kale's The Faith of My Fathers: The Takari Saga
by Eowyn the Fair
Summary: Book 5: Takeru, Hikari and Daisuke are thrown into a distant world, where they must guide a young and blessed digimon boy on a quest to redeem his world from an ancient evil... a quest that has been foretold will cost him his life.
1. Revisit the Wonder

****

Note: Again, yes, I do have kale's permission to post his stories here. That permission is documented in his author's profile. This is the fifth book, continuing the saga begun in 'SoulBound', 'A Bond Unbreakable', 'The True Believers', and 'Unite the Righteous Virtues' and occurs roughly during the first few episodes of canon season 02.

A reading of Books 1 and 3, at least, is recommended to follow the storyline.

The Faith of My Fathers

T.K. heaved his heavy book-bag over his shoulder with a quiet sigh as he continued his slogging journey through the ankle-deep snow on the way to school. Books, basketball equipment, lunch... it was all in there, and the cruel weight of the bag made him certain that he'd spend the rest of his days hunched over if he didn't put it down soon.

What was it that Gatomon had once asked him... back in the old days?

__

"What do you carry in that backpack? Bricks?"

The boy grinned ruefully and shifted the weight over to his opposite shoulder. He knew it wasn't bricks, as he'd been certain to check before leaving the house. Maybe his mother had secretly lined it with lead when he wasn't looking.

Then, after what seemed like an eternity, the school came mercifully into view just around the next corner. Yet another dreary day of classes complete with the tedium of biology, grammar, algebra...

And the decidedly less dreary prospect of seeing Kari...

He managed to stifle an admittedly stupid grin at that last thought. Well, perhaps things wouldn't be _too _bad after all. And, if things went as they usually did, another trip back to the digital world with Kari and the rest of his friends. Now _there _was a place where he felt he was actually accomplishing something.

After the long torture of trudging through the unusually cold weather the young boy stepped into the schoolhouse, the snow melting off of his sweater to form a large puddle around his winter boots. He waited for a moment to allow his fingers to regain some sensation after being numbed by the arctic chill outside, then removed his hat and shook the snow from it. At once several tendrils of long, golden hair again fell down to hang in front of his bright blue eyes.

"Hey! T.J.! You look like something the cat dragged in... or maybe something the cat coughed up!"

T.K. choked back a sigh as the other boy chuckled at his own words, fighting an instinctive roll of the eyes. "Hi, Davis," he responded patiently, giving a brief wave as his dark-haired friend passed quickly by. Davis' taunting was frequent enough, so he supposed that he should have gotten used to it by this time. And he most likely would have, being naturally very even tempered, were there not that one omnipresent source of tension between the pair.

The blond boy was not, of course, stupid. He was well aware... all too well aware... of Davis' rather obsessive crush on Kari. How he wished that once, just once, she would come out and tell him what was quite obvious to everyone else: that she was already spoken for. Competition for the girl's affections wouldn't have bothered T.K. in the least, were it not for the fact that she'd proven her love for him both in word and in deed so often in the past. "Why did it have to be _my _girlfriend?" the boy muttered to himself. Kari took constant steps to keep the other boy at arm's length or greater, but for some unknown reason she refused to put an end to his pining by just coming out and telling him what the rest of the world already knew... that she could never love anyone but the golden-haired boy to whom she was promised.

With a thinly disguised look of vexation still scrawled across his face, T.K. quickly fought his way through the crowd to his locker and placed away those items which he would not need before going off to his daily rendezvous with Davis and Kari. If nothing else, it was kind of amusing to watch the interaction between the two.

A formal school dance was being held later that night, and in spite of his rather profound lack of coordination when it came to dancing, T.K. would be escorting Kari. Their relationship being as well-understood as it was, neither had even fielded any other proposals. But the young boy had the uncomfortable feeling that Davis would insist on making some sort of last-minute play for Kari and so make everything that much more awkward. Fortunately there was no basketball practice that day, so T.K. would have plenty of time after school to get ready. Kari had a meeting of the photography club immediately after class for some awards ceremony or other (of which she was certain to win many), but it would be over in plenty of time for the girl to get home and get changed.

T.K. opened the door to the classroom. And once more, as he had been every other day during the entire school year, Davis was draped all over Kari. The girl gave her sweetheart a secret, patient smile as he entered and sat down beside her, causing the other boy to glare across her shoulder at him. "Nice to see you made it, T.M. I was beginning to hope, er, worry that something had happened to you."

"Hi, Davis," T.K. replied patiently, making a concerted effort to sound pleasant. The blond boy tried and tried repeatedly to establish the bond with Davis that he already shared with the other chosen, but their new leader made it almost impossibly difficult sometimes.

__

"Hi Davis," the other echoed back at the boy in a falsetto tone. "Me and Kari were just discussing our plans for the dance tonight."

Kari's eyebrow went up as she turned on the boy. "We were _not_!" she shot heatedly back at him.

"Well, we were about to," Davis amended smoothly, his voice just a bit defensive.

"Very well class, take your seats, please," their teacher directed, entering the room just as the bell started to ring and silencing them all with a single glance. "Remember, there is a quiz today on chapters eleven and twelve in your texts. I hope that everyone has come prepared."

"Oh, damn," Davis muttered under his breath, turning his head to the side.

As the other boy looked away, T.K. leaned over towards Kari. "Why don't you tell him?" he asked again, his voice reflecting just a touch of sadness.

Kari quickly glanced to make certain that Davis wasn't listening, then leaned in to reply. "I don't want to hurt him. He'll get the hint... eventually, I'm sure."

"You know you're not doing him any favors by letting him pine over you like this, right?"

A lovely smile crept onto the girl's lips, the smile that T.K. so adored... and Kari knew it. "_You _just worry about tonight. I'll worry about Davis." And then the girl pursed her lips and blew a soft, teasing breath onto his ear.

A chill went down T.K.'s spine as his cheeks flushed a bright red. She always knew exactly how to handle him... and the boy loved her for it.

The three at the front of the class were the last to receive their tests. The teacher glanced at the clock on the wall and then announced with a single nod, "Begin."

The test was really quite easy, as most of the questions had come verbatim straight from the textbook that they had been assigned. T.K. puzzled his way through the first pair, then confidently filled out the remainder of the answers and placed his pencil down ten minutes later, taking his paper up and placing it on the teacher's desk... well before anyone else.

The young boy was somewhat surprised. Kari always, without fail, easily finished the tests before he or anyone else in the class would. With a quizzical look still in his eyes, the boy gave a surreptitious glance over Kari's shoulder to see just what was taking her so long. No harm, he figured, since he had already turned his paper in.

Kari had barely gotten through the first four questions, and after a moment T.K. discovered why. Every so often, Davis would slide a piece of paper in front of the girl with a note of some sort scribbled on it. _He's asking her for the answers? _T.K. wondered, glancing over his shoulder to watch their teacher. _He's taking a big chance, sitting right up in front of the class._

Kari evidently tried to ignore the note and concentrate on the test, but whenever she did, Davis would shove it further and further onto her paper until the girl was finally forced to scribble a brief note in return and shove it back towards the brown-haired boy. T.K. caught a brief glimpse of their handwritten conversation.

__

Oh come on! Come to the dance with me, please?

No, Davis. I already said no.

Why not? You don't have plans with anyone else, do you? Somebody that I should know about?

Davis, I said no! For the last time, no, no, NO!

Then disaster struck. As Davis was sliding the note across to her again, his hand slipped and the paper went fluttering to the floor to land right in front of the teacher's desk. The balding man looked up from his writing, then glanced down at the paper on the floor in front of him.

The class became deathly still as he walked slowly around his desk and picked up the note, reading it with disapproval. Then he folded the little piece of paper in half and cleared his throat. "Mr. Motomiya?" he asked, holding it up. "You seem to have dropped something here. For your lack of discretion in my classroom, you will be consigned to detention. You do know where, I believe."

Davis bit his lip and turned his bowed head to the side in sullen frustration. "R-7, three o'clock sharp."

"And to whom were you passing this note, hmm?" the teacher asked, standing in front of Kari and looking down at the girl, who steadfastly refused to look up in response. "Miss Kamiya?"

Kari's lips were quivering, and the tears flooding her eyes made it clear she was on the verge of breaking down. _Well, _T.K. thought stoically, _I guess that's what she gets for not telling him a long time ago._

"Miss _Kamiya_?" the teacher said insistently, his deep voice stern. Davis, astonishingly, did nothing to hide the smirk forming on his lips. Even if it was in detention, he would finally get the chance to be alone with Kari. She'd be mad in the beginning, but once she gave him a chance...

T.K. blinked once as a thought occurred to him, and he looked over at the girl. _But what about the photography thing...?_ Kari had been waiting anxiously for several weeks for those awards, especially as she was favored to win several. She miss the whole thing if she was in detention with Davis. And so he abruptly slid his chair back away from his desk and stood up, just as Kari was about to break under the teacher's intense glare. He straightened his back. "Uhm, actually sir, it... it was for me."

The teacher's eyebrows went up suspiciously at the blond-haired boy as he glanced down to quickly reread the script of the note, particularly the last line. He was, after all, no fool, and was well aware of the quasi-romantic connection between these three.

__

Come on. We can say it's only as "friends" if you want.

T.K. bit his lip as the man studied him closely. He was, admittedly, a completely inept liar, and could therefore only pray that the older man would take him at his word and not question him. He shifted uncomfortably as the eyes of two dozen classmates began burning a hole in his back, but otherwise remained stock-still as the teacher slowly nodded. "I believe I understand, Mr. Takaishi. Of course this will mean detention for you as well. I must admit to some surprise, as I cannot recall ever having had cause to punish you before."

T.K. nodded his acceptance of the sentence and sat back down, resisting the very real urge to sigh in relief. Then the teacher also returned to his seat and looked up. "Very well, class, the show is over. Finish your tests quickly, please." And then he cast a brief, clandestine look in T.K.'s direction, a very slight smile tugging at the corner of his lips that reflected something that the boy did not expect. Amusement, perhaps? Or admiration?

__

He knows, T.K. thought, fighting down a nervous shudder.

The teacher's eyes locked with those of his young pupil as he gave a single nod of the head. He did indeed know; knew and had accepted T.K.'s sacrifice for Kari's sake.

With the exception of two individuals in the front of the room, the rest of the class went back to filling out their tests. But these other two only had eyes for the blond-haired boy who had just been the center of attention.

The eyes of one were filled with undisguised, undiluted anger. _Damn, he did it again!_

The other with a tearful and heartfelt adoration. _Oh, T.K..._

*********

The young, furry creature sat quietly at the edge of the mist-covered lake, watching the silent currents of wind as they caused the fog veiling the water to dance to the melodious sound of the waves licking the shore. He could, if he wished, lift the cloud of mist from the water, but he was well content to have it as it was.

A tuft of the boy's reddish fur dangled from his forehead and in front of his blue eyes, and once again he raised a paw to push it back into place, even though he knew that it would not stay there. But as sad as he was at the moment, he was not about to give up and let the troublesome lock obscure the wonderful morning view. 

__

Why me? the boy thought, rising to his feet and brushing the mud from his bushy tail which stood up behind him. _With all the warriors and soldiers and brave men in the village, why on earth me?_

Well, in truth, he knew the answer to that question. It was now The Fifteenth Year, and to fulfill ancient rites, each of the provinces of the _a'ladon, _his people, were required to send a representative from their village to point high atop Mount Cypress to meet with a reclusive sect of priests who resided there. At that gathering, it was told, one of the representatives would be selected as an envoy of sorts, and would from there be sent alone into the wild lands of the north. No one in his village knew what such an undertaking would portend, as no one this far to the east of the land had ever been chosen.

In return, the rites proclaimed, the priests would appease the demon-god of the north, called D'assan, and keep the _a'ladon _safe from him for another decade and a half.

And why had he been selected? Well, the answer to that was quite simply: he was expendable.

He was at an age now where most young _a'ladon _males had determined what their lots in life were to be. Most of his friends had already been apprenticed to various productive members of society and were earning their keep in the village, and those who had not had the wealth of their parents to keep them from any serious labor or such. He himself was not so lucky.

No one, it seemed, would apprentice him. He had the well-merited reputation of being a dreamer, one who had no serious ambition in life and whose only talents were music and drawing. He had no real interest in fighting, and so could not be a warrior, and the village was filled to capacity and more with musicians and storytellers. Musicians and storytellers who did not have his rather... unique problem.

The boy had tried to keep it hidden, and had succeeded in doing so most of his life. Yet just over a year ago his secret had finally been uncovered at one of the numerous fairs that the villagers held every year. Sometime during his performance for the large gathering, the gifted boy had played a tune on one of his musical instruments (he had long since forgotten the particular song) that he had thought particularly moving. It had been a somewhat sad song, as he recalled. Something about a simple man accepting punishment for crimes that were not his own...

But as it happened, something magical within the boy's music had taken hold that day. Midway through his song a very prominent, very important member of the village's council had made his way to the stage and interrupted the festival to make a public announcement. The essence of that announcement had been a rather long-winded confession of every illegal, quasi-legal or unethical act that the man had been involved in since taking office. He had barely paused to catch his breath while recounting numerous bribes that he'd taken, various marital infidelities he'd been involved in, and so forth.

The crowd had been stunned, and village constables had quickly appeared to hustle the councilman off the stage. After some moments had passed the boy resumed his song, only to be interrupted minutes later by much the same thing. He had ignored the second man and attempted to continue the song, but soon another confessor joined him on the stage. Before long it became quite crowded with those anxious for public absolution of their moral failings, and moments later it was he whom the constables had forcibly removed from the stage. 

The religious rulers of the village had met in emergency session that night, and after examining the boy had ordered that he no longer play within earshot of any inhabitants of the village. One of the elders had been heard to mention that the 'talent' had reappeared again after centuries of lying dormant, something that the others had seemed less than enthusiastic about.

Thereafter he had never again played for an audience, but still his music continued to have odd, unnatural effects even when he was alone. Depending on the tune, the boy could clear the mist off of a lake in the morning (like the one he sat in front of now), cause the most vibrant flower to suddenly wilt or a crippled bird to take flight again. The results he could evoke were as varied as his library of songs, which was impressive indeed.

__

That was why he was being sent away. The ancient rites only specified that the villages send a male of 'a certain age' (later clarified as anywhere from thirteen to thirty) to present themselves before the priests on the mountain, and to fulfill the task that they set him to if chosen. By sending him, the rulers of his province would kill two birds with one stone. Get rid of a nearly orphaned boy with a rather troublesome ability, and spare the village the loss of a more valuable, productive, member of society.

The boy almost cried at the thought... almost. Once again he would truly be alone, but that was nothing new. With his mother dead and his father a comatose cripple at home, he had never really had anyone anyway. No friends, no family... none who cared if he stayed or went.

__

But still, he thought as he placed his small whistle to his lips and started to play, _it would be nice to find someone who cared..._

******************

"Now what the hell is everybody gonna think, J.A.?" shouted Davis as the two left the detention room. "They'll think that I... that you... that you and I are... are..."

"Davis, please," the other boy answered, losing some patience as he turned on the other. "It's T.K., and it doesn't make you sound clever when you say it wrong. Say it with me. _Tee... Kay..."_

"J.A.! For Jack Ass! I've spent years trying to build up a great reputation and now... now you've..." The boy's face turned three different shades of purple as he sputtered the words, unable to finish the sentence.

"What about Kari? Don't you care that she was almost the one in here with you? That she would have missed her camera club thing?"

"This isn't about Kari!" Davis fumed. "Quit trying to change the subject! This is about me! Me, me, me!"

Kari met the two boys just outside the door to room R-7 as Davis pulled on his heavy winter coat. She had in her hands four small trophies, each emblazoned with the picture of a camera on it. As the door opened, her eyes immediately sought out T.K.'s face. He returned to her his gentle smile, and right away she dashed into his arms, dropping the awards and embracing him tightly.

The boy blushed a deep red, shuddering with barely suppressed joy at the warm greeting. "Mmm... nice to see you too," he muttered into her ear as she lovingly ran her fingers up and down his broad shoulders.

The pair stayed that way for a few moments, T.K. breathing in the delicious odor of the girl's hair until Davis cleared his throat. "Hey! What about me? Aren't you happy to see me?"

Kari's arms fell to her side as she released T.K. and turned on the brown-haired boy, fury burning in her eyes. "You? Why, I should... should... ooh!"

Davis grinned at T.K. "You see? She does like me."

Kari was ready to deliver a scathing retort to the boy, but suddenly she stopped as she heard, faintly, a delightful tune playing somewhere nearby. But it was not the type of music that she was accustomed to hearing in school, or even in that world, for that matter. No. The music that she was hearing set her in the mind of something that had happened the previous year. "M... Mylam?" she whispered quietly, her brow furrowing as she glanced about for the music's source. She pulled once on the blond-haired boy's sleeve. "T.K.?"

T.K. fell silent, listening for the music as well. After a moment he nodded at the girl with a confirming smile on his face. It was indeed one of the songs that their friend Prince, then later, King Mylam had played for them in the world of the _a'ladon._

"Mylam?" Davis queried, straining to hear whatever it was that the other two were listening to. "Who the hell is 'Mylam'?"

Kari pursed her lips, then inquisitively opened the door that the two boys had just exited. She could swear that the sound was coming from just inside...

Instantly, as the girl's hand left the knob, a ferocious wind picked up behind the trio. A wind _inside_ the school of such severity that it started pushing the three of them through the doorway... and through the doorway was no longer leading into room R-7. A burst of rainbow colors dazzled the pair for a moment and together they were once again blown back into back to the land of the squirrel-like digimon, the _a'ladon._

And blown in right behind them, screaming bloody murder and with a handful of T.K.'s sweater, tumbled Davis.

******************************

"Woooaaaaahhhh!" cried T.K. as he plummeted through the air, clutching at passing tree branches in an attempt to slow his fall. After a few seconds of wondering just how badly it would hurt when he landed the boy slammed violently into a mist-covered body of water, the breath exiting his lungs in a single gasp.

T.K. ignored the stinging pain as he was dragged under the water, weighed down by the heavy sweater that he had worn to school that day. Desperately he shrugged it off and then let the winter boots slide from his feet as well as he kicked back to the surface of whatever body of water it was that he had landed in.

Seconds later T.K.'s head broke the surface of the water and he exhaled deeply, gasping for air. After a cough or two he peered about and called out into the fog. "Kari! Kari, where are you?"

"T.K.?" he heard the girl's voice faintly in the distance.

"Kari, don't move!" he called out, darting off in the direction of her voice. "Just keep talking so I can find you!"

Then the young boy heard another loud splash in the same direction, and moments later heard Kari cry out again. "Davis? What are you... no, get off me! Davis don't pull on me, just swim!" she shouted.

T.K. kicked feverishly in the direction of the girl's voice, and moments later came upon the both of them as Kari tried feverishly to free herself from the boy's terrified grip as he thrashed about in the water. T.K. was on them in an instant and grabbed Davis by the scruff of his fur coat. "Davis!" he shouted into the other's ear, trying to get his attention. "Davis! Just take off the coat and swim!"

But now it was too late. Kari had managed to free herself from the boy, and as she paddled away Davis went limp in T.K.'s grasp. The blond boy quickly placed an arm around the other's neck in order to keep him afloat and leaned back in the water, wiping the excess water from his nose. "What happened?" he asked Kari, who had already shed her coat.

The girl coughed twice, then wiped several wet tendrils of hair away from her eyes as she smiled at the boy. "I think he fainted."

"He... what_? Oh, great_," T.K. muttered, awkwardly paddling backwards as he fiddled with the zipper on Davis' heavy coat. After a minute or so he stopped and sighed in frustration. "And I can't get this thing off of him."

"C'mon," the girl said, turning around in the water and starting off in the opposite direction. "Before we hit, I think I saw some land over this way."

T.K. frowned at the unconscious Davis, then turned his grip on the boy into a lifesaver's hold and dog-paddled after Kari. The water soaking into the other boy's jacket made his weight substantial, and T.K. was forced to call for Kari to stop every few minutes or so that he could catch his breath.

"Oh come on, pokey!" the girl said with a teasing smile.

"Do you want to do this?" the boy called back irritably, shaking his head to get his hair out of his eyes.

Kari only shook her head primly in response. T.K. once again looked back at his charge, silently willing the other boy to wake up that he might be forced to fend for himself. After a moment of staring at him, though, another thought struck T.K. "Hey, wait a minute! Why am I doing this again?" he called to Kari, indicating Davis with a nod of his head.

The girl seemed to ponder her response. "Because saving Davis' life is more important than the satisfaction that we'd get from watching him drown."

T.K. stared at the girl in response.

Kari couldn't suppress a playful grin any longer. "It might help if you keep telling yourself that."

"Ha, ha," the boy replied drolly, then shifted his grip around Davis' neck and again set off after Kari.

It was only a few minutes later (though it seemed like hours to the fatigued boy) when Kari and T.K. finally crawled out onto the shore, T.K. dragging Davis' limp body a short distance from the water and dropping him there. Then, with a single, exhausted sigh, the boy collapsed face-first into the sand and made a sad attempt to strip the water from his hair with his equally wet hands.

Kari rested her chin in a hand and gave the shirtless boy a blatantly flirtatious stare as he tried to dry himself. "Thanks, T.K.," she said with a gentle smile.

The boy rested on his elbows and looked up at her. "For what?"

"For being you," the girl answered simply. It was all she really needed to say. She looked around at the thick forest surrounding the lake. "This isn't exactly the return that I had in mind."

T.K. shivered, half-naked as stood up and glared down enviously at Davis, who still had on not only his winter coat but his shoes as well. "Tell me about it. Not only are we lost _and _freezing, we also managed to bring along a friend."

"T.K., come on. He's really not that bad."

One of the boy's eyebrows went up guardedly. "I thought he was 'the silly, bigheaded jerk who can't take a hint'?"

Kari's cheeks quickly turned pink. "_T.K.!_ Don't you dare tell him I said that!"

"H... hello?" a quiet, nervous voice whispered at the pair from a nearby cluster of trees. T.K. quickly rose to his feet and went to Kari's side. "Hello?" he responded.

Both of the children watched as a young _a'ladon _crept forward from the grove, a small blade like Mylam's strapped to his side and a harp slung over his furry shoulder. Around his neck dangled a tin whistle like the one that their friend had once carried, but this boy was most definitely not Mylam.

Whereas the prince had carried himself with a confident, almost conceited demeanor, this boy seemed shy... almost to the point of being skittish. While his red fur and blue eyes made him look somewhat like their friend, he had none of the regal bearing of the other. And his hooded cloak was clearly not made for anyone of significant standing, being frayed around the edges and showing patches all about it from having been mended countless times.

"Hello," said Kari with a friendly voice, stepping forward to meet the newcomer. "My name is Kari. And this," she nodded to the boy at her side, "is T.K."

The other looked at them, a questioning look in his eyes. Then he stopped and removed a small medallion from around his neck and glanced at it. He _knew _those names. Every _a'ladon _child of an age to remember their parent's bedtime stories knew those names, though the priesthood frowned on using them. Of using those names instead of... "Lady _Hi_kari? Lord Takeru?" he asked in wide-eyes astonishment. Without waiting for a response, the child dropped to his knees and bowed low before the two, genuflecting in submission.

T.K. looked sideways at Kari, bowing his head and lowering his voice. "Here we go again," he muttered.


	2. The Holiest Name

Chapter Two

T.K. bent over the young _a'ladon_, placing a hand lightly on the other's furry shoulder. "Please... please get up," he implored, feeling very awkward about seeing the little creature there on his knees. The last time that he and Kari had come to that land, the _a'ladon _had done more than befriend them. They had deified them... worshipped them and exalted them as _gods_. The human boy was once again bowed by the weight of expectations that no mortal could ever fulfill.

But despite his plea, the young creature stayed silently on the ground at the bare feet of the couple. T.K. allowed himself a moment of resignation, then leaned close to Kari. "I'd hoped that Mylam would have put an end to this by now."

The girl frowned. "I guess not." Then she knelt in front of the _a'ladon_ boy and took his paw in her hands, stroking it gently. If the small creatures lived in awe of T.K.'s supposed 'power', they universally adored Kari. "Please," she murmured. "If you won't get up, at least tell us your name."

The creature murmured something so quietly it was unintelligible.

"What?" the girl whispered.

Now the creature did look up, right into Kari's face. The girl was quickly caught up in the boy's blue eyes... eyes that were so like T.K.'s that seeing the specular resemblance in two distinct species was uncanny to her. Even the look of blatant adoration on the child's face was one that she had seen before (to a lesser extent) on the face of the blond-haired boy. "My... my..." he stuttered, then swallowed deeply. "My name is... T'Kai."

Kari glanced up at T.K. with a smile. Then she rose to her feet, gentling pulling the young creature with the soft auburn fur to stand alongside her. The teeth of the child were nervously chattering together as he bowed his head, steadfastly refusing to raise his eyes to look at them. "T'Kai? Why--?" T.K. paused, confused as a crease appeared on his brow. "Are you scared of us?"

"P... please, my great Lord," the child murmured to the ground. "F... f... forgive my taking of your name. It is meant as no disrespect."

T.K. smiled, then lifted the boy's chin so that the other would be forced to look at him. "T'Kai..." he said kindly and with a nod of his head. "Believe me when I say that nothing could honor me more. But I have to wonder why your parents chose such a name for you. Is it a common one among your people?"

The creature's lips continued to tremble as he shook his head and started to speak, hesitantly. "The name has been in my family for many generations now, and dates back hundreds of years to the second son of King T'Kay, Prince T'Kai. At least, that is what my mother had told me."

T.K.'s face was ashen as the blood drained out of it, and he looked at Kari. He swallowed, and had heard little after... _Several hundred years. _Before they'd returned home from their first adventure, Perrin hadtold them the name that she'd chosen for her first-born son. "King T'Kay. Son of... King... Mylam?" 

The other nodded quickly, evidently missing the sound of emotional pain in the other's voice. "During the last dynasty of our kings. History tells that the King T'Kay had desperately wanted to meet the two of you, and that his mother, Queen Perrin, had said that you had vowed to return to us one day. His father Mylam had taught him to be always trustworthy and to ever honor his word, explaining that it was the best thing about you, Lord," he nodded to T.K. "So to honor you and to remind his decedents that you would one day return to us, he gave his son the name T'Kai. Not only does it keep your name in our hearts, but in the old language, it meant 'Little keeper of the promise'. "

Kari took T.K.'s hand in her own and squeezed tightly, and no words were necessary between the two so tangible was their pain. Their friends, with whom they had become so close, had been dead for hundreds of years. And without their ever having returned to fulfill their promise. But after a moment or so of silence, the three heard a cough behind them. "Oh, Davis!" Kari exclaimed, wiping the unshed tears from her eyes. In all honesty and in the emotion of the moment, she'd completely forgotten that he had been brought here as well.

"D... Davis?" shouted T'Kai in alarm, his sapphire-blue eyes widening in horror. Then the creature fumbled about for the whistle strapped around his neck, sounding a quick series of ear-splitting notes on it before whipping his small weapon out of its sheath and leaping between the pair and their friend.

T.K. and Kari looked at one another. "Uhm, T'Kai?" the human boy queried.

Davis staggered around stupidly for a second, sputtering to clear the sand out of his mouth and wiping a hand across his face. When he finally opened his eyes he found himself staring directly down at the sharp point of the _a'ladon's _bright blade. "What the hell--?" he began loudly, his words interrupted as he tripped backwards and fell onto his backside in the sand.

"Begone, devil," the child hissed through clenched teeth at Davis, raising the medallion about his neck with his free hand. "Get away with thee. I am a servant of My Lord Takeru. You have no power here."

"No, wait... T'Kai, please," said Kari gently, moving to stand between Davis and the little creature, who was clearly bent on skewering the brown-haired boy. "He's with us. He's our..." she glanced over at Davis, who gave her what he hoped was a charming smile. "Well, he's with us."

A veil of confusion dropped over the _a'ladon's_ face. "But I thought... you... you called him 'Davis'?"

Davis moved to stand beside Kari, draping an arm over the girl's bare shoulders. Kari shrugged off the arm and affixed the boy with a dangerous glare. Davis gave a smirk, then turned to face T'Kai. "That's because it's my name, you little rodent."

T'Kai looked up questioningly at T.K., who was still standing by his side. The blond boy nodded gently, and reluctantly the young _a'ladon _eased his weapon back in its sheath. "T'Kai, what's wrong?"

The young creature motioned the boy down, and when T.K. bent over the other whispered quietly to him, the whiskers on his nose tickling the young human's ear. After a moment, T.K. stood up and looked at him. "Oh! I see. Well... I guess that would make sense."

"What?" Davis demanded, evidently upset.

T.K. looked at Davis, then back down to T'Kai. "You actually have a word for that?" he murmured.

The creature looked nervously at Kari, then back to the blond boy. "It's not considered polite to use it... uhm, around... well, girls," he whispered.

"I can imagine," T.K. whispered back.

"What is wrong with my name?" Davis shouted, advancing on the pair.

T.K. never got the chance to answer, for at that moment a large band of _a'ladon, _each armed to the teeth, came rushing out of the woods. Several of them stopped and aimed their wicked-looking spears in the direction of the humans as another, who was evidently in charge, stepped forward and looked at T'Kai. "I heard your call," he said, his voice gruff. Slowly he glanced over the humans, his brown eyes suspicious. "Who are these?"

T'Kai hurried to the larger creature's side, then stood on his tip-toes and whispered quietly to him. The other blinked in surprise as he peered closely at T.K., while his troop continued to look as though they would impale the humans at a word from anyone. The leader's brow furrowed, and he motioned over one of the others and engaged in a hurried discussion with him. This newcomer also looked at T.K. and whispered a response, though his deep voice carried his words over to the humans. "Can't be," he said, his accented voice thick with skepticism. "He's not big enough."

Once again the leader looked at T'Kai, who gave an insistent, nodding smile. The older creature frowned, and walked over to T.K.'s side. Though he was an exceptionally large member of their race, the _a'ladon _came barely up to the human's chin. "You claim to be the Lord Takeru?" he asked gruffly.

T.K. sighed. "No... I'm not 'Lord' anything. My name is T.K."

The other's furry snout gave a twitch, and he pulled a sword from the sheath at his side and reversed his grip on it, thrusting the hilt at the boy. "And this?" he demanded.

T.K. glanced at the golden, spherical gem that served as the pommel to the weapon and smiled. Inscribed on its surface was a finely detailed representation of the Crest of Hope. He nodded once, reaching beneath his shirt to retrieve the original crest and holding it forward for the other to inspect. The _a'ladon _took one look at the holy relic, then fell on his face before the boy as T'Kai had done originally. "My god," he whispered into the sand at T.K.'s feet, "forgive me. Forgive me for doubting you."

Kari looked up, startled, as the rest of the contingent of the _a'ladon _dropped their spears and staves with a clattering noise and fell to the ground much as the first. "Our Lord! Lord Takeru! Holy Takeru!" the creatures sang, their voices heavy with emotion.

T.K. looked helplessly at Kari, who shook her head in return. Davis, too, looked quite upset at the throng of creatures calling out the name of his rival, though for quite different reasons.

*****

Several hours later, however, the brown-haired boy's demeanor had improved exponentially as the three were conducted (paraded might have been a better term) through the town and taken to a large and most luxurious estate directly in the center of the village.

"This is _great_!" whispered Davis to Kari as they followed their armed escort into the building. "We're gods here!"

"Don't you dare try to take advantage of this, Davis," T.K. snapped angrily at him, knowing the other well enough to conclude that he almost certainly would.

The brown-haired boy smirked. "You have _got_ to be kidding, T.J. People love me, but I've never been a god before. Something like this gives us all sorts of opportunities!"

Several pairs of dark eyes watched from a secluded area as a troop of the _Laenites_, the True Believers, formed an honor guard and led the newcomers up to an elaborately decorated door within the manor. There was a brief argument with the sentry posted outside the door before the blond-haired child and his mate were ushered inside with great ceremony. The dark-haired newcomer looked as though he would follow his friends through the door, but was stopped by both the sentry and Devan, the senior _Laenite_. Devan was quite firm now and called one of his subordinates over and assigned him to the third human, motioning the pair in the opposite direction.

Three _a'ladon _stood up and stepped away from the door through which they had been watching the proceedings. The eldest of the three looked at the others. "Do you believe them?"

Another snorted. "Certainly not. Takeru and Hikari, indeed. Such creatures do not exist."

The third looked carefully at his co-conspirator. "Strange to hear one of the priesthood say that," he murmured.

"Bah! If the people want to believe in such things, and if they lend us authority then we can tolerate the myth. But the idea that they are real? Flesh and blood as you and I are instead of some ridiculously exaggerated parables? Preposterous."

"They looked real enough to me," the first whispered. "But why would they be here? Now?"

All three looked nervously at one another, each thinking the same thing but none wishing to bring it up. The creatures, be they gods or not, were said to have a very intimate connection with the ancient line of kings. and that included the boy that the three were sending to his doom the following day.

The leader looked at his fellows. "I told you both, this was a mistake."

"Aieron, it has to be done. The boy is getting far too dangerous to have around anymore. Can you imagine what kind of mischief he'll cause if something isn't done about him? The next time he works the magic of the Holy Symphony, perhaps it will be you that he catches in its snare. Generations of elders before you have slaved continuously to make people forget about the monarchy and their gifts. We cannot, _must_ not, allow the one remaining branch of that damned family tree to destroy what we have worked so hard for."

Aieron stopped. "But must it be done with such an elaborate scheme? I'd really prefer something more direct and with less chance involved. Why not instead poison him or drown him... or something like that? Why go take the chance of sending him to the north when we aren't even sure that those religious whores on Cypress will accept him?"

The high priest, Karel, frowned. "I can't condone murdering him here. The True Believers would be sent to investigate, and they have ways of making witnesses talk. We have to send _someone _to the north, and I've arraigned for the other villages to send their worst possible candidates. He will be chosen and, like the others, will never return here. Simple."

"But what about the gods?" the first insisted.

Jeron, the third member of the group smiled. "Why, they'll go with him, of course. By their own insistence and the words of our priest," here he gave a mocking bow to Karel, "they are mortal. So that accursed creature who rules the north will undoubtedly be able to deal with them as well."

*****

"Now _this_ is not exactly what I had in mind," complained T.K. as he slipped on the gold-laced shirt that the _a'ladon _tailors had created for him. It was really quite comfortable, outside of being two sizes too large, but as he looked in the mirror that hung in the luxurious room that he and Kari had been placed in he discovered that it made him look almost... well, regal. _Not _the image that he wanted to present to these creatures to convince them that he was not a god.

"Maybe you'd like to dive to the bottom of the lake to get your own sweater back," Kari suggested, running a soft brush through her wet hair. The two had just returned from the separate communal baths in a different part of the building when they had found the clothes waiting for them.(The baths themselves had been an adventure of sorts, at least for the boy. T.K.'d had quite a time explaining to several young _a'ladon _servant girls that he was quite capable of bathing himself.) Now Kari was dressed in a new outfit as well, though hers was a dark, foresty green instead of T.K.'s gold.

"Funny," muttered the boy, as he pulled on the soft, leathery shoes that had been left for him as well. These at least fit him correctly. "The last thing I want to do is encourage them."

Kari finished with her hair. "Did you find out anything about Davis?" she asked.

T.K. finally found something to smile about. "Yeah, he was down at the baths too. He seems okay, outside of a guard's passing remark that he couldn't be allowed to 'soil the sanctity of the god's quarters' with his presence." Or the fact that none of the females seemed anxious to assist the other boy with _his _bath, but T.K. thought it better not to mention that part of it. 

Kari chuckled. What she wouldn't have given to have her camera with her at that moment to have caught the incensed expression on Davis' face. After all, if there was any ego that needed a little deflating, it was his.

"What about this party they're having tonight?" T.K. asked Kari. "Is it like the one when we were here last time? The... uhm... the _C'erre_?"

The girl shook her head. That had been initially what she had thought, too. "It's something for T'Kai, but I don't think it's anything like the last one. They're sending him away tomorrow for something that's supposed to be kind of dangerous, from what I understand."

T.K.'s blue eyes flitted over to Kari's, wondering if she also felt the sudden, keen sense of loyalty to the descendant of their friend Mylam that he did. "Dangerous...? Kari, are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

Kari slipped behind the boy, grinning mischievously as she stood wrapped her arms affectionately around his waist and rested her chin on his shoulder. "Could be," she murmured into his ear.

T.K.'s cheeks quickly turned beet-red. "I... I meant about T'Kai," he stammered.

Kari gave a quiet chuckle. "Of course you did," she said, toying with the golden strands of hair around his ear. "But it's just occurred to me that we're all alone in this very, _very _private place, and I haven't gotten a chance to thank you for taking my detention for me yet."

The boy hadn't honestly been prepared for this. "Uh--"

Kari gave him a gentle shove, and he sat down heavily on the large bed in the room. His blue eyes looked as though they were about to pop out of his head as she straddled his lap when the two were suddenly interrupted by a quiet knock at the door. "Oh, shoot," Kari murmured in frustration.

"Who is it?" T.K. croaked, springing to his feet and catching the girl so that she wouldn't fall to the floor.

"It's Devon, holinesses," replied the senior _Laenite _from outside. "The time for T'Kai's celebration is at hand. Will you consent to join us?"

"Uhm, yes! Yes, of course," T.K. called to the creature, still dodging the rather inviting look that Kari was directing at him. He knew that if he looked at her long enough, he'd meet the creatures with a flushed face and a stammering voice. For some reason the girl just adored doing that to him.

"Oh well," the girl pouted, just loud enough for the boy to hear. "I guess there's always later... "

*****

Some hours later, though, T.K. leaned close to Kari. "Some party," he whispered, his voice thick with irony.

The girl nodded. The last time they had come the _a'ladon _had pulled them into a wild, impromptu festival with loud, celebratory music, dancing and delightful food. The _C'erre_, or 'joyous welcoming'. This time the 'party' was more like a funeral for the young boy. "I don't understand this," Kari returned. "They're acting like he's already dead." Even the appearance of the 'gods' was only enough to cause a momentary stir in the somber mood of the room. Davis' appearance, however, had caused a much greater amount of discord. At the very mention of his name, mothers pulled children quickly away and wives embraced husbands. One particularly excitable young female had fainted dead away.

After a time, T.K. noticed that T'Kai had disappeared from the gathering. After making certain that Kari would stay with Davis to keep him out of trouble, the blond-haired boy went off in search of the young creature. He found him a short time later, concealed in a corner well away from the celebration. The young _a'ladon's_ head was bowed over a large book of some sort, and he was concentrating on what appeared to be a piece of coal in his hand.

"T'Kai?"

The red-haired creature looked up, startled at having his concentration broken. "Lord Takeru!" he exclaimed, fumbling to put the book away. The boy's hands were covered in coal dust, and then T.K. knew what he had been doing. He sat down beside the creature. "What were you drawing?"

T'Kai looked away nervously, then took the sketchbook and placed it into the human's hands. "I'm... I'm afraid they're not very good."

T.K. took the book and flipped through the pages, his jaw dropping open. The pictures inside were of unbelievable, exquisite detail, and included drawings of both Kari and himself. But not of the two of them as they appeared in the typical artwork of the _a'ladon_, which usually depicted him as some terribly large and imposing deity and Kari as a flawless goddess, the queen of light. No, the pictures that the young creature had drawn were of he and Kari as they were this morning, or even now. As he came to one drawing, a portrait of himself, he realized that he could have almost have been looking into a mirror.

Then, as the human looked further, he came to different pictures... pictures drawn of a young _a'ladon _girl. T.K. wasn't exactly certain how he could discern that it was a female of the creatures outside of attributing his knowledge to the boy's incredible skill. "T'Kai," the human exhaled in awe. "These are wonderful!" He turned the book to the young boy, indicating one of the pictures of the young girl. "She's lovely. Who is she?"

"I... I'm not really sure, lord," T'Kai replied shyly. "But I've seen her, here," he pointed to his forehead. "Just as I have seen you and My Lady Hikari."

Something that Mylam had once told T.K. echoed in the boy's thoughts. Something that the boy king had said of his mother... 

... Now he remembered. Mylam had called it the gift of Sight. As the seventh child of a seventh child, his mother had been born with the talent of scrying and had passed it down to her son and his descendants. Evidently T'Kai had inherited a greater measure of it than most.

T.K. handed the book back to the creature, who took it with trembling hands and placed it away, a sad look in his eyes. T.K. noticed both the hands and the eyes. "What's wrong?" he asked quietly.

A single tear fell from the _a'ladon's _eye. "I'm... I'm frightened, lord," the boy confessed. "I must go on the journey that the priests are sending me, but I know that... or rather... I have seen that it will mean my death to do so."

T.K. was stunned. That, of course, would be the meaning for the somber feeling at the party. While his conversations with the True Believer that had escorted him to the baths had given him an inkling that T'Kai's journey would be dangerous, he'd honestly had no idea that... 

And then something became quite clear to the human boy, something that had been flitting around in his brain since they had met the creature on the shores of the lake. "T'Kai?" he whispered quietly, drawing closer to his namesake. "I understand. Believe me, I know what it's like to be sent to do something that you feel too young to do. Thankfully, I had help when it was my turn, and I'd like to be your help now that it's yours. Would you mind if I came with you?"

The other's lips moved as though he would respond, but no sound came from them. T.K. smiled at the silent affirmation, nodding as he placed an encouraging arm about the child's furry shoulders...


	3. The Warden T'Kai

Chapter Three

The four left the village early the next day, just as the morning sun was creeping over the eastern horizon. The farewell that they received was eerily somber, though none of the _a'ladon _seemed even remotely sad to be rid of Davis. Even as a great host of the creatures bowed in quiet reverence before T.K. and Kari (it was widely whispered that the reason for the 'god's' return was a desire to see young T'Kai safely to the gathering point on the mountain), many more made the sign that warded off evil in the direction of the brown-haired human boy. One elderly woman even spat at the dirt by his feet.

T.K. strapped the backpack that the creatures had given him over his shoulders and gripped the long rod that they had provided tightly in his hand. The stave was almost an exact duplicate of the one that he had wielded against the Saurian king and the angel of Darkness the last time that he had been in that world. After several years of forced and impromptu combat with such a weapon, he was actually becoming quite good with it. Not as good as Angemon was with _his _staff, of course, but nevertheless...

Davis, after learning that T.K. was to be armed, had insisted on being provided a weapon as well. After learning that the rather rustic creatures had no idea what exactly a "gun" was, the boy had consented to taking along an enormous, bladed weapon with a sharp hook on the end. It had been taken from a wild band of roving Saurians some months back, and had been kept mainly as a trophy of sorts, since it was far too big for any _a'ladon _to wield effectively. (In truth, it was far too big for Davis to use as well, but to keep from hurting the boy's feelings both T.K. and Kari refrained from mentioning that fact.)

T'Kai was dressed in the same cloak that he had worn the day before, though one of the women in the village had made a sad attempt to mend the frayed edges. Strapped to his waist was the same weapon that he had threatened Davis with on the previous day, and around his neck dangled the same whistle. He had thought, briefly, about bringing along other instruments as well, but then decided otherwise. When told of the boy's quandary, T.K. had given a secret smile. How like his forefather... 

__

Did you want me dragging my pipes along? We're supposed to be in a hurry. T.K. could almost hear Mylam speak the words as his descendant brought them to mind.

Kari strolled alongside T'Kai at the front of the group, smiling and humming merrily to herself. Both T.K. and T'Kai had agreed not to mention the young _a'ladon's _'vision' of his impending death, the creature not wanting to upset the 'goddess'. T.K., on the other hand, knew that Kari was made of sterner stuff than that, but did not want to mention it either. He was afraid at just what the girl might do to the village elders who were sending the boy away when she found out just how dangerous his journey was to be.

"We're going to have to travel rather quickly, My Lady," the young creature said to Kari. "We'll need to make it to the next village before the sun goes down."

Kari looked at him, a question in her eyes.

"The beasts of the wild come out after dark," the boy explained. "And there are some creatures out here that I would not care to meet, even with Your Grace at my side." He paused with a frown, then looked up at the girl with concern. "Did... did that sound like heresy, My Lady?"

The girl smiled. The young creature was just so adorable that Kari was having a bit of trouble keeping herself from kneeling down and cuddling him. But it was clear that the boy was attempting to play a part that was much older than he was, quite like T.K. had done years ago against Piedmon, so she refrained from embarrassing him by doing so. "T'Kai? You have my word that if I ever hear you say anything that sounds even a little heretical, you'll be the first to know."

The young creature responded with a satisfied smile as he turned from the girl, and pursed his lips and began to whistle a content, rather lilting tune. Kari returned the smile as she walked alongside the boy, nodding her head to the melody. "Will you sing for us sometime, T'Kai?" she asked.

The creature stopped whistling and looked somewhat flustered, bowing his head just slightly. "I'm afraid I'm not much of a singer, Lady Hikari," he said quietly. "I've tried, because that's all my songs really seem to be missing, but I just don't do it very well."

"Oh... well, that's all right," the girl replied, hoping fervently that she had not embarrassed the young boy. "But you can at least play for us sometime, right?" she asked, indicating the whistle around the other's neck.

Now T'Kai looked upset, though it was clearly directed at himself instead of at the human girl. "I, uhm, don't think that's a good idea, My Lady. Sometimes... well, strange things happen when I play songs. I mainly just brought this along because I'd feel kind of naked without it with me."

T.K., walking beside Davis some distance back, smiled as T'Kai once again started in on his simple tune. His muscles ached, as he had spent the previous night sleeping on the floor of the room that he and Kari shared, but the morning and the song were just too enjoyable to be ruined by a bit of soreness.

The blond-haired boy looked ahead at Kari. He was _almost _certain that the scene in the bedroom the previous day had been some new way for her to tease him, but it had awakened in him some new, confusing emotions that he was not prepared to deal with. In any event, he didn't trust himself quite far enough to sleep in the bed next to the brown-haired girl this time. He had a promise still outstanding to Matt... and when it came down to it, to Kari herself, after all. He was just fairly certain that the girl did not realize how difficult she was making it for him to keep it.

Davis trudged along irritably, lugging his chosen weapon across his shoulders. The heavy blade weighed as heavily on him as his dark thoughts. Once again, he was in a situation where everyone seemed to dismiss him as irrelevant while just falling all over themselves to adore T.K.. First Kari, then the other chosen children, now this village of strange, squirrel-like creatures. The boy gave an angry, sideways look at his rival. _What is so special about him? _he demanded of himself. _After all, _I'm _the leader, right?_

"Hey, that's right!" the boy said quietly to himself. "Wait up for a sec!" he called forward to Kari and T'Kai.

The pair stopped and turned to look at him. "What is it, Davis?" the girl asked patiently, not altogether certain that she wanted to hear the answer. She'd tried her best to ignore it, but she just knew that she'd heard some sort of bothersome idea percolating back there behind that shock of dark brown hair.

The brown-haired boy stopped beside them and cleared his throat. "Well, you see, since _I'm _the leader," he emphasized, "I think that it's only common sense that _I _be the one to decide exactly what it is that we should be doing next. Right Kari?"

The girl closed her eyes and covered them with her hand. She'd willingly let the earth swallow her whole, given the opportunity. T'Kai was stunned into immobility, his mouth sagging open just slightly. "_He _is _your _leader?" the creature asked in astonishment, pointing towards the brown-haired boy.

Davis looked smug, though possibly not quite as smug as he could have. "That's right, squirrel," he answered. "And as _the leader_, I think that I need to be told what's going on here, so I can start making the important decisions."

T.K. walked right past the three without even slowing. "Actually, Davis," he returned. "None of us is the leader here. This entire journey is T'Kai's duty, and we're along with him only at his pleasure. So if anyone here is 'the leader', I think it's him."

Kari and the young _a'ladon _looked at one another and nodded, the girl giving a quiet sigh of relief as well as they hurried to catch up with the happy, blond-haired boy. It wasn't that she didn't trust Davis as leader... after all, Tai himself had chosen the boy. But from the limited number of times that he'd served in that role for the new chosen children, she had the uncomfortable feeling that he 'lucked' into the right decision much too often. And that was with experienced advice at his side.

Davis was seething, his teeth audibly grinding together. _I can't believe it! He did it again! _the boy thought angrily to himself. _Why is everybody always on his side?_

Kari and T'Kai quickly caught up to T.K. "Nice," the girl murmured to him with a quick wink, overwhelming relief evident in the word.

T'Kai blinked. "Uhm, Lord Takeru? Did... did you mean that? I mean... about me being... you know..."

T.K. smiled down at the young _a'ladon _and placed a hand on the other's furry shoulder_. _"Of course, T'Kai. This is your world and your duty to perform. Who better than you to be in charge?"

The boy looked stunned for a moment, then returned the human's smile. "Thank you, My Lord," he said, just a bit of the overwhelming shyness vanishing from his demeanor. "No one... no one has ever trusted me like that before."

T.K. nodded, then the look in his eyes turned serious. "T'Kai, just what kind of trouble are you expecting to find out here? I heard you talking to Kari about some sort of creatures."

"It should be nothing to worry about, Lord," the boy replied. "The distance between towns is short enough that we should be able to get from one to the next well within the daylight hours, and the wild ones have never appeared during the day... not that I've heard about, anyway. But no one... no one, goes out after nightfall if they can help it. There's all sorts of nasty things out here, or so the village elders say."

T.K. gave Kari a nervous glance. _And they were going to send him out on his own? _the human boy thought, frowning at the very idea. "C'mon," he whispered to the brown-haired girl. "Let's see if we can't pick up the pace a bit. I don't like the sound of this at all."

************

The four reached the next village (which turned out to be a fairly large city, complete with stone walls) perhaps half an hour before sunset. Two burly guards (burly by _a'ladon _standards, anyway) stood by the main gate, each with a long spear resting lazily across his shoulder. T'Kai waved at the pair when the group was still a fair ways off, and Davis' incessant complaints finally came to a halt as he was able to finally put his heavy weapon down and rest.

The first of the two guards looked at the group as they approached. "You are the Warden T'Kai?" he asked gruffly.

The young creature nodded as T.K. and Kari stood back from him a bit. He had explained to the pair that the chosen representatives who traveled to the holy mountain were all called 'Wardens' until one of them was selected by the muliebral priesthood. And all the cities had agreements between them that the Wardens were supposed to be treated as the most venerable of all guests on their way to the mountain-top, since they were acting on behalf of _a'ladon _everywhere, after all.

"We've been expecting you," the second said with a bow. "Though you're a bit younger than we had anticipated. Much younger than the others who have passed this way." Then his eyes went to the humans behind the creature, and he peered closely at T.K.. "And who are these that you've brought with you? It seems to me that I should recognize..."

T'Kai nodded with a smile as the guard trailed off. "It is my greatest and utmost honor to be accompanied on my journey by the gods of old, Lord Takeru the Oathkeeper and Lady Hikari Lightbringer," he beamed.

The guards both looked on in awe. "In truth?" the first asked the human pair.

T.K. and Kari glanced quickly at one another, the boy with his bottom lip between his teeth. And Kari knew him well enough to know that he would have no answer for such a question. "That... that is what your people call us," she replied, trying to keep the answer as neutral as possible.

The guards bowed even more deeply than they had for T'Kai. "Then we are thrice honored," the first said. "To host not only one of the holy Wardens, but also the most divine of all creatures."

"And who are you?" the second guard called pleasantly to Davis, who had sat down on the ground to remove a stone from his shoe. The brown-haired boy was, to be honest, starting to look a bit ragged from the whole ordeal. Unlike T.K. and Kari, he had not been clothed in the fine attire of the _a'ladon, _and so still wore his heavy coat and tennis shoes from school which had been damaged heavily by their time in the lake.

T.K. looked alarmed and made a secret motion for the other boy to be silent. They'd surely misinterpret the pronunciation of his name as badly as T'Kai had. "Ah, this is... this is..." he stammered, trying to come up with a plausible story before Davis said something stup--

"I guess that would make me Lord Davis the Great!" the other smiled proudly, marching confidently towards the creatures after witnessing the honored welcome that the others had received.

The guard was impossibly fast as he brought up his spear to remove Davis' head from his shoulders, but somehow T.K. was even faster and brought his own weapon down across the other's shaft to force it away from the dark-haired boy. "Demon!" the second swore in alarm, also setting his weapon for combat.

"No! No, stop!" Kari cried, stepping protectively in front of the other boy and raising her arms. Davis flashed a smirking grin at T.K., who could only roll his eyes in response. "He came with us!"

The guards looked down at young T'Kai, who could only nod glumly in response. The first affixed him with a stern look. "It appears that your journey is destined for disaster already, then," he muttered, also looking somewhat upset with T.K. for the blond boy's alteration of his skewering thrust. "You travel with doom at your back."

The second guard relaxed his weapon, apparently unwilling to be pointing it at Kari. "I cannot be certain what this is all about, Your Grace," he said dangerously, a cautious look in his brown eyes. "But this creature," he pointed at Davis, "cannot be allowed inside these walls. The three of you are more than welcome here, but this is a place with women... and children as well. Even were you to command it, _that _cannot be permitted to enter our fair city."

"But you can't just leave us out here!" Kari protested. "Not with all of the... the wild ones," she recalled T'Kai's words. 

"Lady Hikari," the first answered. "Your Grace is more than welcome in our city... indeed we would be most honored to have you and the Lord Takeru housed inside of our walls. But this... _thing_," he indicated Davis, "will have to stay out here with his own kind. We would be guilty of an abominable dereliction of our duties if we were to allow such an instrument of torment to pass."

The brown-haired boy was seething, and T'Kai looked up helplessly at T.K. The sun was now falling rapidly over the horizon, and soon the city gates would be shut for the night. "My Lord, we cannot stay out here," he murmured. "To do so would invite the worst manner of disaster upon us."

T.K. sighed, looking over the others in the group. Then, "Kari, T'Kai?" He looked consigned to a bad decision. "You two go on inside. Get rested up, and do whatever T'Kai is supposed to do here. I..." he paused, then glanced over at the other boy and sighed again. "Davis and I will stay out here together."

"T.K.--" Kari started, but the boy interrupted her.

"Kari, go on. You and T'Kai can take care of one another in there. We'll be okay for just the one night."

The girl gave a small pout, the reasons why she so loved the blond boy again becoming quite clear to her. Her eyes were downcast as she stepped over to T.K. and placed her arms around his neck, then, not caring that Davis was watching, kissed him quite seriously on the lips. "Don't you _dare _let yourself get hurt out here, T.K.," she warned, her normal, playful way of flirting with him vanishing into a more solemn expression of love at the thought of the danger he was putting himself in. "You're just too... too important to me to..." she stammered, her lips quivering and tears pooling in her brown eyes.

A sudden feeling overtook the young boy, and he impulsively grabbed Kari by the shoulders and urgently returned the kiss that she had given him. The girl's eyes widened in surprise, as such an assertive response was quite unlike him, and then pulled his body closer to hers and leaned back in his arms, reveling in the emotions that threatened to overwhelm her. "I promise, Kari," he murmured into her ear, again reinforcing his bond to the girl.

"I trust you, T.K.," she countersigned, the words private, for him alone. With that he nodded and released her, and with T'Kai and the pair of guards she went into the great city, her eyes not leaving him until the gates closed slowly between them.

************

"This is just stupid!" Davis scowled, kicking at the dirt as he looked angrily into the small fire that T.K. had managed to start. "I'm twice the hero that you are! Why does everyone hate me here?"

"They don't hate you, Davis," T.K. responded quietly, looking up at the stars just now beginning to make their appearance. The constellations were foreign and unfamiliar to him, reminding the boy that he was in an alien land. He looked away, now back to Davis. "They just don't know you. Your name here means... something else. And you're not what they think you are any more than I'm their god." He stopped, kneeling to poke a small stick into the fire. "We're going to have to take turns sleeping, you know. One of us is going to have to stay awake and keep watch for the creatures that T'Kai was warning us about."

"Oh, wait... let me guess who gets to sleep first," the other boy retorted with a roll of his eyes. "Honestly... wild creatures?"

T.K. sighed. "Davis, he didn't have any reason to lie to us, and you saw how nervous he was about it. But you can go ahead and rest first. You've had a rough day, and probably need to get some pretty quick."

"Damn right," the brown-haired boy snapped with an angry nod. He was uncertain just which he was more upset about: The fact that the squirrels around here were treating him like some sort of disease, that he apparently wasn't going to be the leader here... or the fact that Kari had kissed T.K. before she'd gone inside. On the lips, too! Still grinding his teeth in anger the boy lay down on the ground and turned away from his companion, pouting for almost half an hour before drifting off to sleep.

T.K. stood up and moved a bit away from the small fire. He was already exhausted from the day's journey, and knew that sitting down near the warmth of the blaze would only make him more drowsy. Whatever kinds of creatures there were around here, they were apparently fierce enough to keep the _a'ladon _in their cities during any hours that could even be vaguely considered nighttime. He hoped fervently that the stories were just exaggerated, or perhaps that the creatures wouldn't venture this close to a city... but in any event, well, he just couldn't allow Davis to be left alone outside the town.

It was almost six hours later when T.K., having used every trick that he could think of to keep himself awake, went to rouse Davis. "Drop dead..." the other murmured crankily, rolling to the other side as T.K. shook him by the shoulder. "Just give me another half hour or so..."

"Davis, please," T.K. insisted. "You've got to stand watch for a while, just a little bit. I can't keep myself awake anymore."

"All right, damn it," the other said darkly, sitting up and rubbing at his eyes repeatedly. He rolled his neck around to try to relieve some of the stiffness. _Jeez, who ever thought that sleeping on the ground could be so uncomfortable? _Snatching up the cruel-looking weapon that the _a'ladon _had provided him, he went over to the blaze that his companion had been tending and plopped down heavily.

T.K. removed his backpack and rested his head on it like a pillow, falling asleep almost instantly. He was troubled, but still managed to catch hold of a happy thought as he drifted off. Kari was inside, safe, and she loved him still. Even if he was to be stuck outside with Davis and sleeping on the ground, _that _was what was important.

Davis abruptly snatched his own pack from where it rested by the fire, digging around in it to see what he had been provided. He had already tried one of the lean strips of dried fruit that the squirrels had granted him in the way of food and found them to be not to his liking. A thin, nylon rope was uninteresting, but they had also left a soft pair of leathery shoes like the ones that T.K. and Kari had been wearing. The boy shrugged off his own tennis shoes, which were beginning to take on a peculiar odor, and slipped on the other footwear. Davis snorted. Not exactly his style, but they gave his toes plenty of room to wiggle around, anyway.

The boy stood up and walked around for a bit, getting the feel of the shoes, then sat down with his back against a tree near the edge of their makeshift camp. _Wild creatures_... sure. Since they'd arrived the previous morning he hadn't seen anything larger than the squirrels. That little rodent that was traveling along with them was probably exaggerating, anyway. Probably just some stupid... story made up... to... scare... 

Davis' musing trailed off into a dream as he drifted off to sleep, his chin hitting his chest as his back rested against the tree. The moon continued its nighttime journey across the sky, but there were no longer any human eyes open to follow it.

The boys, on the other hand, _were_ being watched. A single pair of narrow, unblinking eyes watched in satisfaction as the one with the brown fur atop his head fell asleep, and the owner of those cold eyes made his way quietly around the camp to the human's backside where he would not be seen even if his prey should awaken. His race, when called upon to be so, could be quite silent.

Davis was right in the middle of one of his favorite dreams and smiled, watching Kari as she repeatedly slapped T.K. across the mouth for thinking that he was better than her hero. After all, Tai himself had named him the new leader of the chosen, and it seemed only common sense that the older boy's little sister would see him in the same light. He was just coming to the best part of the dream when he felt an uncomfortable tightness around his face, and he awoke in alarm.

The boy struggled against the tightness, but then a scaly hand clamped down across his mouth and he felt a searing pain as his right arm was twisted awkwardly behind his back. He gave a muffled scream against the rigid flesh and fumbled for his long weapon, but he had left it over by the fire when he had stood up to try out his shoes. Reaching back he clawed feverishly at whatever it was that had grabbed him, then bit at the hard flesh of its hand when he couldn't seem to hurt it with his fist.

"Mmph! Mmmmph!" Davis cried in terror as his unseen assailant pulled him further and further away from the camp and from any help. At that moment, he would have even been glad to see T.K.

"Stop, Saurian," the human boy heard a shrill, yet forceful, voice order from behind him even as a dazzling light lit up the forest that he was in. The creature that was holding Davis turned, rotating his human captive about as well. Despite, or perhaps because of, the radiant glare of the crest that was bound about Kari's wrist, Davis could still make out the form of the young _a'ladon _T'Kai standing in front of the human girl, his small weapon drawn and pointed straight at his captor.

"H... hehh... leave... boy," the creature hissed at the child, Davis barely able to decipher the creature's stammering words.

T'Kai stubbornly shook his head in refusal as both he and the lizard hesitated, the situation evidently a standoff. The Saurian was clearly unwilling to surrender his prospective meal, and T'Kai could not attack the creature for fear of impaling the human as well. And although he himself was not completely adverse to that idea, he was fairly certain that it would upset the Lady Hikari.

T'Kai frowned, then grabbed at the whistle dangling around his neck and sounded the same short, trilling series of notes that Kari had heard him play on that first day at the lake. The Saurian gave an angry hiss at the sound, but continued to hold Davis' head firmly in his claw. The smell from the beast was almost choking the boy, and the creature's scaly flesh left a rotten taste in his mouth as he tried continued to try to bite his way free.

Then Kari's eyes lit up as brightly as her crest as she saw T.K. darting through the trees at the lizard-man's back, his long rod gripped tightly in his hand. At the last moment she stopped herself from calling out to the boy so that he might keep the advantage of surprise, and kept the Crest of Light high over her head to illuminate the clearing that they were in.

The blond-haired boy's teeth were clenched together as he approached the others. On their previous journey he had gotten plenty of experience fighting against creatures such as this, and now knew exactly how to handle the situation. Mylam had told him where their greatest weakness lay. As quickly and as quietly as he could the boy ran at the creature's back, then at the last moment gripped his rod in both hands and swung it mightily at the back of the tall creature's head.

The Saurian stumbled forward with a gasp, releasing his grip on Davis with a howl of pain. The moment that the human was free and scurrying away, T'Kai bounded over to the lizard and clobbered him once again on the back of the head with the hilt of his weapon. The creature gave a long hiss of disorientation, then proceeded to collapse in a large (and quite putrid) heap at the feet of the young _a'ladon_.

Kari rushed to Davis' side as T.K. and T'Kai stood over the body of their fallen opponent. The human nodded in satisfaction to the _a'ladon, _even as he stifled a yawn. He had still only been asleep for a short time when the sound of T'Kai's whistle had somehow brought to him the feeling that he was urgently needed. It must have done the same for the soldiers back at the lake. "Why are you out here?" T.K. asked, just now noticing that it was still nighttime.

The young creature tapped his head with his forepaw. "I had the Vision," he replied, then looked angrily at Davis, who was happily submitting to Kari's ministrations. "You know that he fell asleep as soon as he started his watch?"

"It doesn't matter," T.K. told his namesake. "Everything turned out okay in the end."

The young _a'ladon _said nothing in response, but it was clear from the look in his blue eyes that he was much less willing than the human boy to excuse Davis' blunder. Silently the pair went over to join Kari, who was still checking over Davis.

The brown-haired boy smirked up at T.K., obviously pleased at the attention that he was getting from the girl. "You can thank me for saving your life sometime later, T.B. If it wasn't for my trying to tackle that thing barehanded, you'd be lizard food right now. You can just feel lucky that it attacked on _my_ watch." His eyes shifted to the side, making certain that Kari had heard every word.

T'Kai's eyes went wide, and he started to sputter. "Are you seri--"

T.K. shook his head to interrupt the young _a'ladon_, then he smiled. "Thanks, Davis. I appreciate it."

T'Kai was seething. It was now clear to him that the brown-haired creature was, like his name implied, attempting to beguile the blond god's mate with lies and half-truths. And, just as the tales told of Lord Takeru, he would not denounce the other to keep from embarrassing him in front of the female. But T'Kai allowed himself a silent smile. Before the encounter, he had taken it upon himself to tell the Lady Hikari the truth of what had actually happened. Now she would know the other, lying creature for what he really was.

Kari gave Davis a patient smile as she finished checking him over. "You've got a few scratches, but nothing too serious," she said with a nod.

"Yeah. I mean, T.J. would've been a lot worse off if I hadn't taken it upon myself to save his butt," he crowed, giving T.K. a triumphant grin.

T.K. looked saddened for a bit, but then Kari favored him a secret smile and a knowing wink. "Oh yes, Davis," the girl replied, her voice just sprinkled with a touch of irony that even T.K. might have missed were it not for the wink. "You were positively... heroic."


	4. A Living Sacrifice

Chapter Four

T'Kai nudged Davis from his sleep in the forest three days later, the others having privately agreed that they brown-haired boy should have the last (and therefore least dangerous) watch. The young Warden was anticipating their arrival at the top of the mountain early that evening, something for which he was particularly glad. Every one of the towns or villages that they had stopped at during the previous days had refused to admit them with Davis in their party. Evidently word had spread from the first town that had received them, and from then on guards would always meet them at the gate, telling them the same thing: that while T'Kai, Kari and T.K. were more than welcome to enter, the 'devil' most certainly could not.

The words of the guard at the city from the night before still haunted the young creature, and visions of his death still crept though his mind every time that he looked at the fleshed-out demon. _You travel with your doom at your back._

Davis sat up, grumbling, and went to take his turn on the watch for the wild creatures of that land. Perhaps not surprisingly, there was no longer any insistence from the boy that such creatures did not exist. 

T'Kai's expression was one of discomfort as he stared at the other's back, and the young creature curled up into a ball by the side of the camp to rest. He swore that, for all of their sakes, he would sleep with one eye open while the _D'aevis_ watched. Try as he might he was uncertain why the Lord Takeru and Lady Hikari seemed so solicitous of their demonic companion. He had already proved himself to be a brooding, dishonest addition to their group and had an obvious and annoying inclination to think of himself as superior to the pair, yet the two were going out of their way to be kind to him. The _a'ladon _Warden simply could not understand it.

Davis watched as the creature closed its eyes, his thoughts running along much the same lines as those of the child. The squirrel's dislike for him was mutual, mainly for the fact that _it _(he was still having trouble thinking of the creature as a 'he') had taken over what he saw as his natural position of leader on this trip. Also, it was constantly watching over him, making the boy feel quite uneasy... as if he'd done something wrong. And then there was the fact that all of the thing's race apparently regarded 'Davis' as synonymous with 'demon' while honoring T.K. as some sort of god. _That _inflamed his rage more than anything.

Then a thin smile appeared on Davis' face as the creature's breathing became steady, indicating to the human boy that it had fallen asleep. He bit back a chuckle, then opened his pack and removed from it the length of nylon rope that he had been provided by the villagers at the start of their journey. As much as he tried he couldn't seem to manage to get the best of T.K., but he'd be damned if he couldn't get back at that one little child of a squirrel.

It was several hours later, and the sun was just beginning to climb over the horizon when Davis put his retaliation into action. Quietly he grabbed a fist-sized rock which was at his side and then raised it over the metal blade of his large weapon. Then.

"Wake up! Everybody wake up quick!" he shouted, repeatedly striking the metal blade of the weapon with the rock. The resonant sound was alarming, even to his own ears, and his three companions quickly started awake. "Hurry!" he shouted, doing his best to sound highly agitated. "We've got trouble!"

T'Kai, wrapped again in the throes of a nightmare, jerked awake in a panic. He had been wrapped in the colossal embrace of the demon _D'assan_ and mere seconds away from having his throat pierced by the creature's saber-like fangs when the human's frantic cry of alarm had awoken him. With adrenaline pounding feverishly through his blood the boy dropped to all fours and scampered across the camp and towards the dell that Davis was indicating as the source of danger... only to feel his paws wrenched out from under him and the air burst from his lungs as he hit the ground heavily. The young creature gasped in pain, then struggled to catch his breath as he looked around, trying to determine exactly what it was that had felled him.

It was then that the _a'ladon_ noticed the peculiar tightness around his bushy tail. Craning his head around, he saw that someone had tied a knot around the furry extremity with a rope and had tied the other end to the large tree which he'd been sleeping next to. When T'Kai had darted off in anticipation of trouble, the knot had tightened and the creature's momentum had thrown him to the ground.

Davis fell to his knees, laughing hysterically at the startled look on the squirrel's face. Kari's hands went to her mouth in dismay and she quickly rushed over to the young _a'ladon's _side, taking his paw in her hands and whispering soothingly to him. The little creature was struggling for breath, and his other paw was clenched tightly across his ribs.

T.K. threw his weapon to the ground and marched angrily over to the brown-haired boy. "That's not funny, Davis," he said accusingly, his eyebrows furrowing tightly together.

"No... you... you're right... " Davis stammered through his laughter. "It's not funny... it's... it's absolutely... hilarious!"

T.K. turned his back on the other boy in disgust and went over to join Kari with T'Kai. "How's he doing?" the blond-haired boy asked her. 

Kari was gently prodding at T'Kai's furry chest. "I think he'll be okay," she answered. "He didn't break anything, he just got the wind knocked out of him. T.K.? Can you see if you can get that knot out from around his tail? It's too tight for me."

T.K. nodded and went to T'Kai's backside as Kari continued to stroke the _a'ladon's _brown fur lovingly. The young creature was still staring sadly across the camp at Davis, who was still rolling about with laughter as if he'd just pulled off the funniest gag ever. "What a jerk," the girl murmured quietly.

T.K. started tugging at the nylon cord where Davis had tied the knot, then frowned as he found that it was much too tight for him to untie as well. "Hmm... T'Kai? Hand me your sword," the boy said, reaching out his hand.

The young _a'ladon _looked anxious, but slowly eased the weapon from its sheath and passed it, hilt first, to the blond-haired boy. "Please go slowly, Lord," the creature begged, sounding quite concerned. "I'm afraid I'd look somewhat funny without my tail."

"I'll be careful," the boy promised, then set the sharp edge of the blade against the rope and started to slowly saw it off.

It took almost a quarter of an hour, but eventually T.K. did manage to get the cord off of T'Kai's bushy tail. The creature stood up and found that, while his ribs were quite sore from his hard landing, he had apparently suffered no major injury. T.K. and Kari rose as well and placed their packs over their shoulders, the boy glaring at Davis as he did so. T'Kai was already terribly frightened of the vision of death that awaited him at the end of his journey; he didn't need to have the additional concern of Davis hanging over his head as well.

The trek up the mountain proved to be much more difficult than T.K. had anticipated. While there were a few small trails leading up the side, none of them could be considered easily passable. The underbrush was dense and full of thorns, and quite often a path that that they'd chosen would be blocked by a large rock, forcing them off of the trail and into the even thicker bushes at their side. Biting and stinging insects swarmed over them, attracted by their sweat, and soon each of the humans was covered in red welts. Davis was bringing up the rear, under his breath muttering every swear word that he'd ever heard in his young life.

Finally, as both the long climb and the day neared their end, Davis dropped his weapon off of his shoulder and leaned against a moss-covered rock which sat just off the trail. "That's it!" he shouted ahead to the others while gasping to catch his breath. "I'm not... going one... step further... today!"

T.K., Kari and T'Kai all paused to glance at one another, then all shook their heads in tandem and turned and started again up the great climb. All were much too tired to put up with another of Davis' fits, particularly when they were this close to their destination. He was in as good of shape as any of them, and if they could finish the hike then so could he.

Kari looked back, briefly, at the brown-haired boy. How much he reminded her of her brother, Tai... and she was honest enough to admit that that was not always such a good thing. But it did explain why she put up with his childishness, his outrageous and unsolicited flirting... even his temper. Before he had grown up Tai had acted in much the same manner, if to a lesser degree, and she felt somewhat obligated to take care of the boy.

As she stared at him Kari stepped on a loose stone, tweaking her ankle and starting to trip, but then T.K. was there at her side and caught her gently. "Careful now," he whispered, giving her a tender smile.

Kari smiled at T.K.'s back as she watched him continue up the trail ahead of her. How very like T.K. that was. So caring, so protective... not only of her, but of each of his companions. Even of Davis, though the brown-haired boy made him suffer endlessly for it. It was one of the many things that she loved most about him.

T.K. gave a quick glance backwards, making certain that Kari was okay and that Davis was indeed following them. In all honesty he wasn't certain that he'd allow the other boy to be left behind, any more than he would have let him spend the night alone outside of that first city that they had come to. But his patience was running very thin with his friend... and despite everything, T.K. _did_ want to think of Davis as his friend.

Davis, in the meantime, was starting to feel very sorry for himself. _Sure, they'd just leave me here by myself, _he thought, wallowing in self-pity. What T.K. and his pet squirrel thought about him, Davis didn't care in the least. The boy was almost certain that his own aversion to T.K. was mutual, and the squirrel. well, that little thing was just creepy. Probably just crawling with all sorts of vermin and disease.

Kari was another matter. He was so sick and tired of her paying attention to everyone but him! The boy was always certain that if he could just make her see how much of a jerk T.K. really was then she would come running to his arms in a second. Yet no matter how much he taunted the blond boy, making certain that Kari heard every word, she still insisted on calling him her best friend. But that scene by the gate of the city... that made him start to believe that she felt of him as a lot more than that.

And so Davis' face was locked in a deep glower as he shouldered his heavy weapon and followed the three up the steep trail, too tired to even swat at the insect that was chewing on the back of his neck. T.K. nodded in satisfaction at the sight, then continued his own climb while wiping the perspiration from his forehead with the sleeve of his golden shirt.

"Lord Takeru," T'Kai called, pointing with a forepaw to an area higher up the mountain. T.K. looked, and nodded as he saw a pair of spires towering above the large trees surrounding them. Finally they had almost reached the temple to where T'Kai had been called, and hopefully that meant that they could get there in time to rest as opposed to spending another night in the wilderness.

"Kari, Davis, come on!" he shouted, pointing to the spires. "We're here!"

************

The sun dipped below the western horizon just as the four travelers stepped from the thick forest into the clearing where the temple of Mount Cypress stood, the pair of towers standing on opposite sides of it like giant watchmen made of granite. T.K. exhaled a loud, grateful breath as he placed his feet in the clearing, a sense of overwhelming peace suddenly flowing throughout his body and cleansing it after the trial of the long climb.

Davis grimaced in evident discomfort as he also stepped into the clearing, placing a single hand on his stomach. He was completely miserable, and being in that place somehow made it worse. _Probably that stupid food those squirrels sent with me to eat. They probably poisoned it_... 

T'Kai looked at the _D'aevis_, surprised for a moment, then led the three humans to the large set of doors that signified the entrance to the temple. In spite of Lord Takeru's insistence that the creature was no demon, he'd honestly expected it to crumble into dust as they neared the great shrine. In any event, the loathsome thing would be the problem of the Sisterhood now. And now he stopped, as the doors eased opened and a cloaked _a'ladon, _seeming to be of about middle age, stepped forward to greet them. To his surprise the creature was a male priest, and not one of the Sisterhood. Perhaps he'd misunderstood about the inhabitants of this place.

The older creature gave a small bow. "Warden," he nodded to T'Kai, who in return stepped forward and dropped to a knee in order to kiss the other's forepaw. "Reverend Father," he answered, his head bent in respect.

The older creature's brown eyes drifted to the humans. "And these would His Excellency the Lord Takeru and Her Grace his Lady Hikari. And their companion... excuse me, what was it again? Lord Davis the Great?" These last words were spoken in an amused voice, quite different from the solemn one that he had used with the others. 

T.K. stepped forward and bowed. "Er, Reverend Father? He's not really a--"

The creature stopped him with a gentle smile. "A _D'aevis_? Yes, I am aware. Even if I had not known already, his presence in this dell as anything but a pile of ash would provide evidence enough. It is the most holy of all places in our world, and woe be to the demon that sets foot in it. I would be curious to learn, however, what it was that possessed his parents to name him something like that. Did they not like you?" he asked of the brown-haired boy.

Davis' stomachache was not aided by the embarrassment that he felt, though it appeared this time that he would at least be allowed inside with the others. "Please, come in, all of you," the reverend creature said, confirming the boy's hopes. "You are the last to arrive, so we can at least make you welcome for one night before the reckoning tomorrow."

The older creature led first Davis, then T'Kai to simple, but comfortable rooms within the abbey. T.K. and Kari followed him a bit further down the corridor, where he stopped at another room. "For you, Your Grace," he said with a bow, ushering her inside. Kari's face betrayed a grateful smile, then she gave T.K. a quick kiss on the cheek before entering and closing the door behind her.

"Lord?" the creature said, ushering T.K. along.

T.K. felt a momentary... well, he wasn't certain if it was relief or regret. All of the other times that the _a'ladon _had quartered them, he and Kari had been placed in the same room. indeed, in the same bed. But with the new emotions that T.K. was having to sort out about the girl he just wasn't sure that he trusted himself to be in that position with her. Certainly not alone, in any event. He knew a lot more now than he did when he was eight, and that knowledge made things distinctly awkward for him... particularly as Kari didn't seem to know exactly _how_ much she was encouraging him with her playful flirting.

The creature at his side gave a quiet chuckle. "In all honesty, Lord, the Sisters _had _initially prepared that room for the both of you. It was only recently that I had become aware that you were having troubles with your... ah, shall we say, more natural urges?"

T.K.'s face went from flesh-toned to beet red in less than a second. "How did you... did you hear what I... ?" The boy trailed off, stammering his words as he realized that not only did this _a'ladon _apparently realize that he was not a god, but also knew about his... he cringed at the thought of the word... lusting after Kari.

The reverend stopped in the middle of the hall and turned to face the boy. "Yes, I am quite aware that you and Lady Hikari are not gods. And as for the other thing... well, you were _thinking _about it quite loudly, you know. But to put it in such terms is overly harsh, I believe."

Though it should have been impossible, T.K.'s blush became even deeper then.

"Those sentiments, Lord, they are hardly anything to be ashamed of, and particularly not for you. It is common for young men of your age to experience such feelings when around those of the opposite gender, and most others are without your devotion or honest commitment for the objects of their affections. I am aware how well you love the Lady Hikari. Be at peace."

T.K.'s blinked, the reassurance making him suddenly feel quite comfortable with the creature. He had been wanting someone to tell him that this new feeling that he was having for Kari didn't mean that there was something wrong with him, and he couldn't just talk to _her_ about it. "Uhm, thank you... uhm... "

"Cheyne, Lord."

"Cheyne, then," the boy finished with a brief bow of his head. "Uh, if you don't mind my asking--"

"You may speak to me of anything, Lord, and I shall answer. I have no secrets that you could possibly mention in passing conversation."

T.K. nodded. "If you know that we're not gods, why do you keep calling me 'Lord' and Kari 'Lady'?"

The creature smiled a response. "They are but titles, Takeru, and if everyone else addresses you as such then it will cause less confusion if I do so as well. If it makes you uncomfortable I will stop doing so, but if I understand correctly, it is the misguided perception that the _a'ladon _have on your mortality that upsets you, and not the title. I am under no such misconception."

With that the reverend stopped at another door, waving a forepaw that indicated that it was for the blond-haired human. "Now rest well, Lord Takeru. For one night, at least, may all of your worries and responsibilities fall from your shoulders. Sleep while knowing that she whom you are sworn to watch over is safe from any who would do her harm--"

The boy smiled gratefully.

"--and from the one who worries that he would do what comes naturally with a willing partner, despite his vows. Remember, she cannot tempt you beyond your ability to resist." The dignified creature finished with an almost impish wink and a smile, then turned to go.

Once again T.K. flushed in embarrassment, his jaw dropping towards his chest. He hadn't really been prepared for that 'willing partner' comment, and the creature's words started a new concern in his head. _Oh, no! Did that mean that Kari was serious? That she feels this way too?_

The boy closed the door and fell face-first into the bed that awaited him inside, covering his head with a nearby pillow and wondering if that had been supposed to make him feel better_._

************

The three humans and T'Kai were allowed to sleep later than they had for some time the next morning, and so it was that when awakened each of them felt much better than they had in the previous, restless few days. Davis may have been the exception, for he had spent the night uneasily and was still holding his stomach with his hand and complaining about feeling ill when he rejoined the group.

The Reverend Cheyne met the dark-haired boy and pulled him down by his collar until the two were face-to-face. Davis looked somewhat surprised at the strength of the small creature, but said nothing as his brown eyes were drawn into the other's like colored ones. "Hmm... " the creature murmured gravely.

"What?" the boy demanded, alarmed at the other's serious tone. "It's poison, isn't it? I knew it! Those filthy squirrels put something into the food that they gave me and I ate it and now I'm gonna--"

"Child!" the reverend hissed, scorn in his voice as he interrupted Davis' angry outcry. "No one has forced upon you anything to make you experience this particular discomfort... though 'poisoned' may indeed be an accurate expression for it. But if so, it is you who has introduced that poison into your own soul."

His stern voice cowed the boy, who suddenly fell silent. "And you are aware of it, aren't you? So yes, I will agree, you are poisoned: Poisoned it with immaturity, with lechery and with jealousy. Only the truly pure in spirit may enter this holy place without the pain that such sin will bring here, and you are clearly not such a one as that!"

Davis looked abashed at the other's words, and stood up straight to tower above the creature. "I am so!" he muttered the reply, though not quite as fervently as his friends might have thought.

The creature said nothing, and motioned for the group to follow him down the hall as he led them towards what he had called 'the reckoning'.

T.K. gave a smile, not for the exchange between the two, but simply for the comfort and unfettered peace and that was almost overwhelming his senses. The previous night he had slept better than he had in a long time, as if some unconscious part of his brain had done as Cheyne bade and relaxed its incessant care for Kari for that short time. He had been provided a warm bath and wonderful food that morning, and there was something about that place that brought to him a serenity that he had not been able to enjoy in some time.

The boy looked back at Kari, who gave him a demure smile and wave. She looked as though she were enjoying their stay as much as he was. The young boy's heart was filled anew with love for the brown-haired little girl, as it always seemed to be whenever the two were reunited after being separated for a short time. In addition, he started to wonder if they might not stay in this place for a time after they had finished with whatever task had been set for them in this world. He felt the urge to lag behind and ask her, but at that moment Cheyne stopped the group. "Ah, here we are," the older creature announced.

The humans looked about the cylindrical room which they had entered. It was not very large in diameter from wall to wall, perhaps thirty feet, but was exceptionally tall, the ceiling towering quite far above the three of them.

Gathered in the room were five other _a'ladon, _all of them looking quite a bit older than T'Kai and all appearing as uncomfortable as Davis. T.K. glanced about at them. Though he had met quite a few of the squirrel-like creatures in the days that he had spent there, he was certain that he had never seen a group of individuals that looked quite so disagreeable as this. Each one of the five was poorly groomed, and all were casting repeated, intimidating looks at one another. As they entered, one of the five even spat upon the unstained floor and started to scratch at various... unseemly areas of his furry body.

Kari gave a cautious glance at T.K., which the boy returned. _These _were the candidates that T'Kai's neighboring provinces has nominated to be the Wardens of their race? From what T'Kai had told them, the task was supposed to be given only to individuals who had demonstrated 'fine moral character', and despite the young boy's hesitance to prejudge anyone, he wouldn't trust any of their number with anything more valuable than the previous day's newspaper.

T.K. had forgotten Cheyne's evident ability to 'hear' any of his thoughts that were filled with too much emotion. "Yes," the creature murmured quietly beside him. "The prospective candidates grow steadily less impressive, but this year seems particularly flawed. It almost makes me wonder..." The creature trailed off, and did not elaborate any further.

The blond-haired boy turned as a group of solemn, elderly _a'ladon_ women entered the cylindrical room from the opposite direction. The six stopped in the center of the room and slowly took in the assemblage of humans and _a'ladon _gathered there. Starting from the left side, each of them slowly removed her hood and allowed the group to look upon her previously veiled face. The looks that the women were casting at them were stern, but not unkind, and T.K. felt at ease in their presence. He was about to ask a question of Cheyne, but when he turned to speak, the creature was already gone.

"Welcome, Wardens all," the final female, the one standing on the far right expressed, her tone conveying unconditional respect to each of the aspirants. "We offer our utmost thanks to the six of you for interrupting your lives and journeying here to ensure the safety of all of our people, everywhere."

"She speaks as though we had a choice in the matter," one of the other Wardens muttered gruffly to another at his side, who guffawed loudly in response.

T'Kai frowned at the lack of respect shown by the pair, though the priestess who was speaking hardly seemed to notice. "You have been chosen because your village Fathers have determined that you are the most honorable, the most trustworthy and the most principled _a'ladon _of sufficient age to be found within your respective provinces. And so into the paws of one of you, the Sisters of this order will deliver the most precious treasure that exists in our land." At this last statement the looks of boredom fell from the scruffy _a'ladon _on the opposite side of the chamber, the ears of each perking up almost instantly.

Now the six priestesses each took several steps forward until each one stood directly in front of one of the Wardens. The one in front of T'Kai was unremarkable from her sisters, and leaned forward to peer into the juvenile _a'ladon's _eyes. She smiled kindly at the boy.

__

You are very young to have been nominated for this duty, Warden T'Kai.

The boy heard the words in his head, though he did not see the woman's lips move. He opened his mouth to respond, but when he went to speak, he realized that while he could think the words that he intended to say, they did not pass his lips, either. _I_... _my village Fathers thought that I was old enough._ He hoped that it didn't sound as defensive to her as it did to him.

__

Indeed. And what, do you believe, is so remarkable about you that they would send you here at such a tender age?

The boy was confused, hesitating for a moment. He hadn't been prepared to be questioned by such a figure of authority... and in any event, he had no answer for what she'd asked. _I_... _I'm not honestly sure, Reverend Mother. I had no right to be heard in my nomination, and had always thought that this was supposed to be done by truly brave and righteous men... heroes and the like. I am not worthy of the honor of standing for our race._

I see... _and what do you believe it is that you shall be sent to do, if chosen? Your the Fathers of your village certainly should have given you some inkling?_

T'Kai bowed his head. _But I do not know, Reverend. It may be that they chose not to speak to me about the matter, knowing that you would certainly find another more worthy than I am. I only know what is common knowledge: That you six shall chose one of us to go to the north side of the mountain and to there speak with those of your order who are sentinel over the demon _D'assan_._

The creature nodded as her eyes flickered to the group of humans gathered behind the child, her gaze falling on each of them in turn. _Such unusual companions. It is rare for any Warden to have an escort, particularly one that is made up of such alien creatures._

The Lord Takeru and the Lady Hikari, ma'am. It is my honor and a blessing that they have come to me in my time of trial. Already I have learned much from my Lord.

Indeed. It is legend that they also came to your forefather in his time. Perhaps there is a correlation?

T'Kai wasn't familiar with the term, and said nothing in response.

__

And the third... _D'aevis, is it? You are aware of what that implies, are you not? It may be that we cannot risk sending _that _to the north lest he ally himself with D'assan to create an even greater evil. If ordered, would you agree to divest yourself of his company?_

Again, an obedient nod. _And with a good heart, Mother. Yet I do not believe that my Lord and Lady will continue without him. I will bow to your wisdom in all matters, yet my heart would be heavy to lose the company of my Lord. I feel that I still have much to learn from him._

T'Kai was uncertain that he was supposed to hear the woman's next thought, but it came through to him anyway. _How appropriate_... _a child with the holiest name of all_... 

And then the supersensible link that the child had with the woman was broken, and suddenly T'Kai was aware that while he had been speaking only with the Reverend before him, all six had learned of his answers through the one. The women turned to meet briefly in the center of the room once again, and when they separated, each of the other five stepped forward to the Warden that she had been interviewing and led him from the room, leaving only T'Kai, his escort and the Reverend Mother behind.

Kari bent over and hugged the young _a'ladon _joyously_. _"Oh, T'Kai! Does that mean that they picked you?" she whispered in his furry ear.

T'Kai started to shrug his ignorance, but the female creature answered for him. "It does indeed, Lady Hikari," she said with a brief bow of respect. "Though we had my have desired someone with a bit more. experience, T'Kai is quite obviously our best choice in this matter."

"You mean you didn't trust those others any further than you could pick them up and throw them, right?" Davis pointed out, crushing the young _a'ladon's_ spirit yet again.

T.K. saw the crestfallen look in T'Kai's eyes and proceeded to clamp a hand around Davis' mouth from behind. The female creature ignored the words anyway. "Come with me, child," she said to T'Kai, "and I will take you to your ward."

T'Kai did as he was bade, following the older creature down the hallway from which the six had originally entered the room. Kari followed him, as did T.K. and Davis, once the blond-haired boy released his hand from the other's mouth.

The corridor down which the woman led the group was remarkable for its plainness. There were no decorations, no adornments of any type... just a long hallway made out of the same drab, gray stone as the rest of the building. The walk on which they were led seemed almost endless, and after a while Kari felt the urge to break the oppressive silence. "Uhm... excuse me, Reverend Mother, but if I may ask, what exactly is it that you've chosen T'Kai to do?"

"You will find out in a moment, Lady Hikari," the other responded kindly. "But let it suffice to say, he will have in his possession the destiny of our entire race. He will be guardian to our token to our sisters in the north... a token so precious that until this very day, only the Sisters of our house have been cognizant to its existence."

"Do you mean that your men aren't allowed near it?" the girl responded, glancing primly at T.K.

The _a'ladon _gave a brief chuckle. "We have no men in this place, Your Grace, save for the brief period of time when the Wardens arrive. And even then, none are without escort."

T.K. blinked. "But what about Cheyne? He didn't seem to be one of the Wardens."

The creature stopped so suddenly that the group following her was forced to halt quite suddenly to avoid running into her back. "Where did you hear that name?" she asked, whirling about and staring at T.K.

T.K. gulped at the stern look in the other's eyes, much as he might have if under the same stare from his grandmother. "Uhm, he... he told it to us," the blond-haired boy responded hesitantly, uncertain of what he had said to give offense.

The other's eyes hardened for a moment, as if she would see into the human's soul for the truth of his words. "Indeed... " she murmured, trailing off when she finally appeared satisfied the he had given her the truth. "So... _He_ has returned to us... interesting." She did not elaborate any further.

With those words the woman again turned and whisked down the hallway, moving faster than the humans would have thought for one of her evidently advanced age, and T.K. and the others were forced to start quickly to catch up to her. "So, Lord Takeru," she said over her shoulder, ostensibly in an attempt to change the subject. "Tell me, just what is it that has brought you back to our world after so many years absent?"

T.K. looked sideways at Kari, who shrugged. Was this woman one who knew that they were not gods, or... 

"We're not actually sure, Reverend," he answered honestly. "Neither Kari nor I produced the conditions for our return, and it came as a surprise to us. But once we found that T'Kai would feel better if we came with him... well, it just felt like the right thing to do," the boy responded.

"I see," the woman replied. Then she paused. "I suppose that it is fortunate that a great hero like yourself is the one that manages to find his way to our people when we are in need of help." She did not elaborate on the nature of 'help'.

Davis snorted derisively as T.K. gave a small grin. "Oh, I'm no hero," he answered good-naturedly. "I'm just an ordinary kid, really."

The woman looked over her shoulder, her brown eyes reflecting amusement. "Indeed. That must be quite an impressive world that you come from, then, if one such as yourself is considered 'ordinary'. Though in truth, I _had _understood that you are considered to still be children of your kind."

It was only a few moments later when the group finally came to a door in the hallway. The _a'ladon _stepped forward and placed a paw on the knob, then paused and turned back to the others. "Before we enter, I must ask all of you to vow that you will never speak of what you see behind this door. It is... the greatest shame of our people, but a necessary one. Were it not for this ritual of atonement, the demon god _D'assan_ should have annihilated our race long before the time of your previous coming." She nodded to T.K.

Kari nodded kindly. "We promise," she said. "I'm sure that whatever it is, it's not as bad as you make it sound."

The woman looked ashamed for a brief moment, her stern façade failing, then nodded as she opened the door and ushered the four in.

The room was as bare as the rest of the building, unadorned and empty save for a shimmering curtain of light in the center of the room, and within that glowing light rested... 

T'Kai stepped forward, a remarkable look on his face. It was as though the child were enraptured by what he saw, entranced by the emotions that washed over him.

Kari was confused. Certainly they could not mean... that would be... She could barely think straight as a righteous ire rose up within her chest. Then she saw T'Kai wandering around the beam of light, and part of her soul went out to the child. She had seen that look in T.K.'s eyes often enough. Both several years before when he didn't know that she was watching and even now when he knew that she was and didn't really mind.

T.K. stood quite still, a serious look in his eyes as he watched T'Kai circle the light in the center of the room. And there, within that glowing essence, resided the mysterious figure from the boyish _a'ladon's _sketches. The young and completely innocent-looking female that T'Kai had conjured in his mind and then set to drawing in his book on the night of their departure.

T'Kai was drawn to the girl within the light, the vision that had haunted his nightly dreams since before he could remember. "Who... who is she?" he whispered, quite evidently captivated by the sight.

Kari's eyes burned as she waited an answer from the older creature. "Her name," the Reverend Mother began, "is Kiara, and she has been raised from birth to know what her duty in life is to be." These last words were spoken somewhat defensively, and evidently intended for Kari. "After you, T'Kai, take her to the mountain home of that vile creature, she will stay there as our atonement for sins committed so long ago that they were ancient even to the great-grandfather of King Mylam. That is the agreement, and the price for our continued existence."

Kari's teeth clamped together. "You mean a _slave_? She had no say in this?" she demanded.

The other's eyes lowered. "Call it as you will. We like it no better than you, Lady Hikari, but it is a small price to pay for tens of thousands of lives." Then the Reverend looked closely at T'Kai, whose eyes had yet to leave the still form of the girl Kiara... not even for a moment. "Take her hand, Warden, and lead her from the light."

The young _a'ladon _hesitated, then did as he was told. His paw was trembling, but at his touch the girl Kiara stepped forward to his side and stood before him silently and with her head bowed. The boy was confused, for though she had moved to join him her eyes remained closed and her breathing steady. "What's wrong with her?" he asked.

"She sleeps," the Reverend said. "She will continue to do so until she arrives at her final destination, where she will finally awaken in the presence of the demon god. While she sleeps she will need no food or nourishment of any kind, and she will be safe from any that seek to do her harm. You, Warden, are simply there to lead her to her destination, for she cannot find her way alone as she is now. She will be bound to you, mirroring your every step and will obey commands that you give her, if they are simple enough for her subconscious mind to understand."

T'Kai nodded, though T.K. was not certain that the boy actually heard the instructions, as his mind was quite clearly occupied at the time. The girl Kiara, stood quietly at his side, her eyes still closed and her paw still clasped tightly within T'Kai's.

Satisfied that the young _a'ladon _Warden did indeed understand, the Reverend Mother moved from the doorway and waved the group back the way that they had come. "Return to the room of reckoning," she instructed. "By now the others will have returned and will see to any needs that you may have before you are sent on your way."

T'Kai hardly seemed to hear the words, so T.K. nodded in his stead and led the others from the room. The Reverend Mother watched them go, and as they moved around the first bend she fell to her knees, tears welling within her eyes. "Oh, Lady Hikari, you have no idea how little we like it, for it hurts. Hurts more than you hopefully will ever know... "

"It never gets any easier, does it?" a deep voice whispered from behind her.

The woman did not turn. She knew the voice quite well... indeed, had been expecting it after having spoken with the group. "They said that you had had appeared to them. Why do you insist on being here if you refuse to stop this?" The words were bitter... accusatory.

Cheyne stepped forward and placed a gentle paw on the female's shoulder. "What would you have me do, Auna? It is not for me to forgive the sins of your people, and the price is not one easily paid. You are loved, but love alone cannot cover what your ancestors have done."

The other bit her lip. "And how long must we suffer for their indiscretions, Cheyne? Millennia? There was a time when we were called blessed for our piety. Yet now we are dependant upon an alien child to deliver us from our troubles. By chance alone he came to us to free us when we were slaves within our own land, and now he has returned to..."

The priestess trailed off, and the male voice at her back grew deeper. "Chance? You blaspheme, Auna, and you're wiser than that. Chance is for the ignorant and the heathen... Hope and Faith are for you. Who are you to decide how your race shall be delivered?" The paw resting on her shoulder gave a gesture towards the doorway. "There go two the like of which have seldom come together in all of recorded history. Even if they know it not, they are servants of the One. _We _shall not bring an end... _they _may. It has not been given to me to know. But the conditions are now right."

The Reverend Mother thought back to the time when she had briefly touched the minds of the Lord Takeru and the Lady Hikari. She had been somewhat surprised at what she found therein. She had thought that after three hundred years they would have been older, yet they still thought as children. " A difficult burden to place on so young a pair, Cheyne."

"Perhaps," the other answered simply. "Perhaps not. As I have said... it is not for you to say." And then, without another word, he was gone from her presence.


	5. T'Kai's Blessed Evolution!

Chapter Five

The grim and sullen _a'ladon _shifted the hood of his cloak so that it would cover his brown eyes, then peered back silently at the vile creatures which he had brought with him to this place. It had taken days of hard travel with little rest to get ahead of the small, mismatched group which he intended to ambush, but the Warden's stop at the temple the previous night had finally allowed him to get in front of them.

The creature spit, as if trying to get a bitter taste out of his mouth. There were those among his people who would call him twice a traitor, if only they knew what he was planning. Not only was he going to ambush the child T'Kai on his sacred journey, he had broken one of the oldest laws of the _a'ladon _to do so. He had brought in several of the 'civilized' Saurians from the west. Not the ordinary, wild creatures which still roamed the forests of his country, but those of marked intelligence who had been driven from the lands of the _a'ladon _over two hundred years ago after their enslavement of his people was broken.

"You look troubled," a wheezing, quiet voice sounded from behind him. _Their leader. _The ugly, gray-skinned creature that the others revered and obeyed without question or hesitation. Karel had been required to deal with that one to obtain the aid of the lizard-men, and had subsequently been forced to use all of the authority that came with his office to get them over the western border and into their lands. Yet both had been necessities. He knew that he could never find a group of his own kind to interrupt the chosen Warden and his charge on their way to the north. Even the most contemptible _a'ladon _would not risk the existence of his race by doing so.

"Don't concern yourself with my quandaries, Saurian," Karel muttered in response. "Just be certain that you and your people can defeat those against whom I will send you when the time comes. If they are slain and my anonymity remains intact, you will have provided consolation enough."

The other's lipless mouth curled into a murderous leer, and his long, prehensile tongue flickered out to taste of the air. "Children, you have said. You would send us, who are veterans of the Great Wars, against five _children_. And one, you have said, who slumbers even as she walks. It will not even be worth mentioning as we recount our battles."

The _a'ladon _frowned. "See that it isn't," he emphasized, turning his back on the creature and wishing that he could be as confident as it sounded. The man knew that young T'Kai did not care to fight, but he had a natural grace and athletic ability that would count for much if the ambush failed and it did come down to a battle. The Lady Hikari, if the bards were to be believed, did not fight, and the creature that traveled with them and masqueraded as a _D'aevis _might well turn out to be an ally as opposed to an enemy. But then, there was the problem of His Excellency, the Lord Takeru.

__

Only a child... _only a child, _he thought to himself, trying to shore up his waning confidence. He had set scholars and mathematicians to studying the ancient texts since the trio had arrived, and all of them had come to the agreement that the god, or 'human' as he called himself, was of an age or even slightly younger than T'Kai. Yet according to those same texts the creature, be he divine or otherwise, had fought with a deific strength and skill some three hundred years before... and particularly when he perceived a threat to his Lady Hikari. And then, if his ambush did succeed, what of the consequences to his people?

Karel, possibly alone among the village _a'ladon,_ did not fear the demon-god of the north. Though he was a high priest for his people he was privately a skeptic, and gave the stories of _D'assan_ as much credence as he did those of Takeru and Hikari. Which was to say very little. Yet the child T'Kai provided a much more tangible, much more direct problem to the priest. Both for his connection to the ancient line of kings and the damnable wild magic that he worked with his music. The Holy Symphony was an ancient and mystifying power, and if T'Kai gained a greater control over it and saw fit to use it in his own interests... he could very well revive the monarchy that had been dead all this time. And if he were to return home as a hero... 

"Over in seconds," Karel murmured, echoing the creature's response. If the other's assertion came to be realized as fact, it would make him the happiest creature alive.

************

T.K. looked across the campfire at Kari as she slept, a smile appearing on his face as the girl rolled over in her sleep and embraced the young _a'ladon _resting at her side. He had been watching the girl closely, and knew that she had been wanting to express her affection for the little creature since she had first laid eyes on him. She had always loved cute, furry animals anyway, and T'Kai's delightful ingenuousness made him that much more charming to her.

Davis looked at T.K., scowling at the gentle look on his rival's face as the blond-haired boy watched Kari cuddle the creature in her sleep. "Wish it was you, huh?" he muttered.

Surprisingly, the dark-haired boy saw his words affect the other as blood rushed to his pale cheeks and his blue eyes quickly darted away from the tranquil scene. T.K. had never been _that _easy to tease, and he bowed his head in embarrassment. "Davis, why don't you get some sleep?" the boy asked in response, awkwardly switching the subject.

"When I'm ready," the other returned in a rather surly tone. It had been enough of a response for him. T.K. did indeed wish it were him that Kari was hugging in her sleep, and it angered the brown-haired boy the more to be reminded of it.

Now T.K.'s eyes again fell on the semi-conscious female _a'ladon _who was T'Kai's responsibility. As always she stood to perfect attention at the young Warden's feet, not moving unless he did. And though they had long ago left the temple where she had been given to their care (under quite mysterious circumstances. The entire building had vanished at their backs the moment that they had departed) her body continued to be bathed in a subdued, yet unmistakable light. It reminded T.K. strongly of a time long ago when Kari's body had shown with a similar radiance.

Soon after they had left the building T.K. had taken Kari aside and mentioned to her the drawings of the female creature in T'Kai's sketch book, wondering if she might have an insight that had escaped him. But instead the girl had only smiled. "Oh, now you've gone and ruined it for me," she replied teasingly. "I honestly thought that it was a 'love at first sight' kind of thing."

T.K. frowned, shaking his head. He would _never, _as long as he lived, understand girls.

Then the young boy again looked over at Davis, who continued to grimace as he continuously stabbed a thin stick at the center of the fire around which they sat. "You okay?" T.K. asked him, a small look of concern on his face.

Davis turned on him slowly. "What do you care?" he demanded in a sullen voice.

"Davis, come on. I'm your friend. If something's wrong then tell me about it. Please?"

__

My friend? Oh, no, T.J. Not as long as she's around. We may be companions and occasional allies, but friends? Not until you give up pursuing what is rightfully mine. "You know," he muttered.

T.K. looked away from Davis and back to Kari once again, then sighed. "Look, Davis, she's asleep. There's no reason for us to act like this when she's not even watching. If you want we can fight about it when she's awake, but why now? There's nobody here to impress."

"Oh, yeah. You'd like that, wouldn't you? To just end the game now when you're ahead, before I've got a chance to even the score."

"_What _game?" T.K. almost threw his hands up in frustration. "_What _score? What are you talking about? Do you think that having Kari as a better friend is something so simple as kicking a ball into a net?"

"_I _don't _want her as a friend, T.K.!_" Davis snapped his reply. "Don't you get it?"

__

Geez, he must be really worked up. He got my name right. "And even if that's all she wants from you, you won't let her? Like you won't let me?"

Davis shoved the stick all the way into the fire and left it there, watching the flames consume it before turning his back on the blond-haired boy. "I'm going to sleep," he announced, placing his pack on the ground as a pillow and laying next to it, his back to the fire.

T.K. shook his head sadly. He supposed that he couldn't really fault the other boy. Who knew how _he _would feel if their positions were reversed. He hoped that he would be able to accept Kari only as a friend if that was all that she truly felt... but then, fortunately, that was a relationship that he would never have to settle for. "Good night, Davis," the boy said quietly, then turned back to his vigil over his friends... and the girl that was bound to him in a way that Davis could never understand.

************

"T'Kai?" murmured T.K., shaking the young _a'ladon _awake gently. "T'Kai, get up. Your turn to watch."

The creature stirred in his sleep then sat up, Kari's arm falling off of him as he did so. "Mmm, already?" he said with a yawn and a stretch. Then his eyes brightened noticeably as he caught sight of Kiara standing there, glowing, at his feet. "About time," he finished his response, smiling broadly.

T.K. bit back a chuckle. "Hey, just don't get so caught up in watching her that you forget what you're really supposed to be looking out for."

T'Kai returned a slightly flustered look. "I wouldn't do that, Lord," he answered sheepishly.

T.K. kept smiling, brushing the reddish hair away from the other's blue eyes. He felt a deep kinship with the young creature, one so great that he was having difficulty understanding it. Though he'd only known the other boy for a little less than a week, he felt a bond that should have taken years to consummate. "Then you're going to be a much better guard than I was, T'Kai," he said as he nodded down at Kari. "Wake me if there's any trouble... or even if you just need some company."

T'Kai nodded his submission as the blond god lay down at his Lady's side and almost instantly fell asleep, then settled in for his watch. He vowed to himself that he would keep a careful sentry on the entire camp, even on the _D'aevis_, but as time passed he found his attention focused more and more on the girl Kiara. The young creature couldn't really help himself. He had, in truth, been a little bit in love with her since his early childhood, but now that she was there, in front of him, that glowing ember of adoration was threatening to turn into a raging blaze inside his chest.

"Just stop it," the _a'ladon _muttered to himself, continuing to stare at the girl. "I don't even really know her. I mean, for all I know she could be rude, or even dishonest, or... or maybe..." The boy trailed off, realizing that he knew the words were untrue. Inasmuch as he had never met her, he knew in his heart exactly what she was like. As gentle as she was beautiful, and as kind as she was gentle.

The night passed quickly for the boy, and even when it came time for him to wake the _D'aevis_ for his watch the young _a'ladon _decided not to. He really wouldn't be able to sleep in any event; not with Kiara standing right before him and staring into his soul with her lovely, unblinking eyes. Were it not for the bone-numbing weariness that he'd felt the night before and the fact that Lord Takeru had insisted on taking the first watch, he wouldn't have been able to sleep then, either.

The boy rested his back against a large tree as the morning sun finally started to make its way over the eastern horizon, his emotions still a jumble within his head. He knew that, when his journey came to its end, he would have to surrender the girl to the dark creature who dwelt beneath the northern mountain. The words of departure from the priestess still echoed within his head. _The pathway on which you must travel is undemanding, and at the end you will find a large fissure carved into the far side of the mountain. Simply lead the girl to that cavern, and from there she will find the way to her own destination. You will not be required to enter. When this has been done, your task is completed and you may go where you will._

In the days afterwards the child was always uncertain of why he did what he did next. Perhaps it was his happiness at having sat with the girl through the entire night; perhaps it was a result of not having had enough sleep during that same night. Or perhaps the more romantic side of his soul demanded he share his newfound joy with the world at the coming of the dawn. In any event, as he watched the sun peek over the horizon, the boy brought the tiny tin whistle that dangled around his neck to his lips, and started to play.

The tune was a simple one... indeed, was one of the earliest that he had ever learned to play. T'Kai didn't even really have to think about the notes as his fingers glided smoothly along the holes in the metal, and the music that came in response to his efforts made his heart glad.

As he neared the midpoint of the song T'Kai closed his eyes and leaned backwards, his foot tapping out the rhythm to the song. Apart from being one of the earliest he had learned it was one of his private favorites, if he was exactly uncertain of just why. Then, unexpectedly, the boy stared to fit lyrics together with the music that he was creating.

__

My eyes watch the light as it crested over the hill

My back to the darkness of the western sky

For now my heart can believe in the coming of the dawn

Even as it stands against the night

The shadows lengthen now towards my destiny

And though I did not ask it, still it comes upon me

The boy stopped playing. The words had not come from within his head... he had heard the soft, feminine voice in his ears! His whistle dropped from trembling paws as he blinked his eyes open and peered across the campsite to where the girl Kiara stood. The light that had been emanating from her body had ceased and she stood there, staring at him with paws folded together at her waist and a gentle smile on her face. The boy's mouth fell open at the sight of the girl awake and he was motionless for a moment. Motionless, that is, until the girl cried out in alarm, "T'Kai! Behind you!"

The Warden heard the warning in the words and rolled away from the tree against which he rested, mere seconds before the blade of an enormous weapon struck where he had been sitting and carved away a good portion of bark from the tree. The young creature rolled to his feet at the girl's side and whipped his weapon out of the sheath at his side, calling loudly for T.K. to awaken.

The blond human was on his feet and at the _a'ladon's _side an instant later, his long stave gripped tightly in his hands. His ears had told him that the girl Kiara was now awakened, and he spared a brief glance in her direction to confirm that conclusion before moving shoulder-to-shoulder with T'Kai and peering into the copse before them.

A group of half a dozen Saurians warriors marched slowly into the clearing which served as the small party's campsite. But these were not like the wild Saurian that they had fought with outside the first hospice city. Whereas that one had been clearly barbarous, wearing no adornment outside of its own scaly skin, these creatures were obviously intelligent and sentient beings. Indeed, the one who led them was clothed better than any in their own party, a cape of fine red cloth draped over one shoulder and trailing off behind his back.

T'Kai panted quietly at having come so close to decapitation, and wished that he could spare a thought to wonder how it was that Kiara had come to be awake. But it was clear to the boy that any distraction from the group opposite him would be deadly at this point, so he forced the thought from his consciousness for the time being. "What do you want?" the child piped up, addressing the gray-skinned creature in front.

The other leered dangerously in response. "Mmm... I had thought that would have been quite evident by S'saran's actions," it hissed, indicating the larger, green skinned creature at his side who was holding an enormous scythe-like weapon. Lidless eyes scanned over his intended victims, and after pausing for just a moment the gray creature turned his head to his fellows and nodded. "Kill them. Kill them all," it said casually.

Davis felt a warm wetness trickle down the inside of his leg as he heard the words, then he fumbled his large weapon out of his trembling fingers. The boy was utterly terrified. Before, in the digital world, he had always had Veemon by his side to do his fighting for him... and never before had he been faced with the reality that he would have to fight and perhaps be injured, or even killed, himself. These lizard-things had haunted his dreams since the night when first he had encountered one. They weren't just dangerous, they were evil...

T.K. frowned at the threat, then calmly moved from T'Kai's side and placed himself between the Saurians and Kari. Lastly and almost as an afterthought, he reached beneath his shirt and came up with the warm Crest of Hope, displaying it on his chest for all to see. T'Kai had seen the human move and echoed his steps, taking up a position in front of Kiara. "Hmph... touching," the lizard hissed, watching the actions of the pair. Then he raised his snout into the air. "Now," he muttered with a nod, never once taking his eyes from them.

Davis gave a cry of alarm as one of the lizards advanced on him, and the boy closed his eyes tightly and swung wildly with his bladed weapon, missing his intended opponent by several feet and T'Kai's head by scant inches. The weight of the weapon threw him off balance as he spun, then tangled his feet together and caused him to fall to the ground in a heap.

T.K. could spare none of his attention to see what happened to his friend after that as two of the green skinned Saurians were advancing on him from separate sides. Slowly he backed into Kari, then moved the two of them until the girl's back was wedged up against a large tree. He fumbled for her hand and squeezed it tightly. "Are you sure you can do this?" he murmured urgently to her over his shoulder.

"No," she whispered back at him.

"No?" the boy questioned in alarm, but it was much too late to formulate another plan. He had to trust that the girl could indeed do as they had arranged if they ever should happen into a battle. So with a cry he gripped his rod tightly in one hand and leapt toward the Saurian on his left.

The creature on the right, seeing the female apparently unguarded immediately charged and swung his weapon in a manner similar (if much more effectively) to Davis'. The girl calmly and dispassionately watched the creature approach, then at the last moment held up the Crest of Light that was bound to her wrist and closed her eyes in a communication of danger to the object.

As she had hoped, the Crest exploded into a dazzling nimbus of radiant brilliance directed right at the creature's eyes. In the dim light of daybreak the effect was magnified substantially, and even she was forced to bring up her other hand to shield her eyes from the artificial aurora.

The Saurian, on the other hand, had no warning of any danger, and in addition was a strictly nocturnal creature. And so the light that only dazzled Kari was to him as if a pair of red-hot needles had been thrust directly through his pupils and into his skull. The creature was almost certain that the sunburst had reached through to his brain and seared it with an angry heat, and he fell to the ground, howling in agony.

T.K.'s rod and the Saurian's cruel weapon met with a loud 'thud' in the space directly between the pair, and the boy clenched his teeth as the two exerted their strength against one another's, both seeking an advantage of a kind... any kind.

The human, though, had fought creatures like this before, whereas the Saurian was encountering a new type of opponent altogether. T.K. knew that the lizard-man would be stronger than him, and so was prepared when the other's blade slowly started to inch closer to his neck. When at last it did happen, T.K. pushed briefly to give the impression of more force and when his opponent countered in a like manner, the blond-haired boy pulled his rod away and dropped to the ground. The Saurian stumbled forward in shock, then went down heavily, crying out in agony as T.K. brought his rod forward with all his strength onto his opponent's knees.

With the backstroke T.K. then hammered the rod into the back of the lizard's head as it fell, and the creature collapsed forward into the dust with a quiet sigh.

The blond-haired boy looked around to see how everyone else was faring. Kari, it appeared was safe, as the lizard which she had been dealing with was rolling about on the ground, howling in agony, but elsewhere things were not so good. T'Kai's shorter blade placed him at a distinct disadvantage against the longer spears of his two opponents, and he was having difficulty keeping the Saurians at a safe distance from both he and Kiara. As the human watched the lizards backed the two _a'ladon _against a tree, evidently looking to strike the killing blow.

Across the way, Davis had either dropped or had his weapon struck from his hand, and was now scurrying away from his opponent in desperation. To make matters worse, however, the gray skinned leader of the Saurians now looked at though he, too would become active in that particular battle, marching slowly forward to place himself in Davis' path. 

T.K. was torn. He couldn't aid both of his friends at the same time, and both were clearly ready to be beaten if he couldn't do something to help. Then, unexpectedly, his mind flashed to him a vision of Mylam the last time that they had come to this world and how _he _had fought. How when he had finally found faith in the young human he had matured... and T'Kai had faith indeed.

Closing his eyes and murmuring a quick prayer, T.K. removed the Crest of Hope from around his neck and held it up as high as he could. "T'Kai!" he cried out to the boyish _a'ladon_. "You believe! You are blessed! Receive the Light!" In response to the young hero's shout the Crest glimmered, then exploded with its familiar, golden aura.

"Wha--?" the young creature returned, then brought a tightly clenched paw to his chest as though he were in pain. His teeth were clenched together tightly, and his eyes were shut and his brow furrowed as he was bowed under the holy power of the Crest.

T'Kai's gave a shout and blinked open his eyes as his furry body adopted the Crest's power as his own. Every single one of his reddish hairs stood on end as tiny embers of gold swirled around him as if having a mind of their own, embracing him affectionately. From somewhere at his back he heard the clarion call of a great trump urging him forward to a battle against evil, and as he opened his eyes he found that he was no longer faced with opponents that could harm him. As the light inundated every fiber of his being the child became taller, stronger, faster, and his already keen senses sharpened exponentially. The Saurians were no match for him now.

The evil creatures, realizing this, stopped their attack and turned to look at one another as their opponent metamorphosed before their unblinking eyes. Whereas before they had been fighting against a small creature who stood barely waist-high to either of them, now they were facing off against a tall, lean figure who stood inches taller than them. The color of his fur was the same reddish tone that it had been, but his snout was a bit longer and his ears now stood up straight above his head. And, most alarming to the pair, clenched in his fist was an enormous sword that no _a'ladon _should have been able to hold, even with both paws.

T'Kai was handling it easily with one.

T.K. nodded as he witnessed the transfiguration as well, then turned and leapt to Davis' aid. The brown-haired boy was almost within the Saurian's grasp by now, and so intent was the lizard-man on his prey that it took him completely by surprise when T.K.'s rod met him with a wicked cross-check across the throat and knocked him to the ground.

Davis heard the clamor behind him and slid to a stop, then took a startled step backwards as the gray-skinned leader appeared some ten feet in front of him. "Well then, chiiild," the creature hissed at him. "It looks as though it is you and I now!"

"Hey, no, wait! Hold on," Davis exclaimed, holding up his palms to the creature in a gesture of parlay. "Can't we talk this over?"

The other grinned cruelly, an evil look in his eyes. "No," he answered simply, then opened his mouth and spewed a slimy glob of black mucous directly onto the human's face.

Davis gave an almost inhuman scream of agony and felt his nerveless legs suddenly give way beneath him. He would have fallen to the ground, but before he could collapse entirely the Saurian leader again opened his mouth, and this time a long, lizard-like tongue snaked forward from it and wrapped itself tightly around Davis' face. The boy's scream was muted as the creature's tongue encircled most of his mouth and throat, cutting off the air supply to his lungs, and slowly the Saurian started to reel in his prey to his waiting mouth.

"Grand Cross!" the newly evolved T'Kai shouted as he leapt forward at his two opponents, cleanly slicing the metal blades of their weapons off of their wooden bases with each stroke of the attack. The young _a'ladon _switched paws with his sword and dropped into a fencer's crouch as the eyes of the lizards echoed astonishment. The two gave one another a brief glance, then turned and scurried off into the woods from which they had come. They had been paid to ambush and murder children... not to enter into a battle with a fully-grown swordsman.

"Davis!" screamed Kari from the edge of the camp as she watched the brown-haired boy being dragged towards the Saurian's waiting mouth. He had stopped struggling, his arms and legs both limp upon the ground. "T.K.! Do something!"

The blond-haired boy dropped his long stave, releasing the stranglehold that he had taken about the green-skinned Saurian's neck and allowed the creature to collapse, unconscious, to the forest floor. "Davis!" the boy exclaimed, then scrambled to his feet and to his friend's aid.

But T'Kai was faster. The fox-like creature hurtled over the campfire in the center of the clearing and brought his keen weapon down across the Saurian's prehensile tongue, severing it cleanly a foot above Davis' head.

The creature howled in agony as what remained of the appendage snapped back into its mouth, then stared back in hatred at the two children... but not children... before him. The creature that had been an _a'ladon _clearly was not one any longer, and was giving him a look that almost dared him to attack. And the creature that Karel had called a human, the one with the yellow fur atop his head that had just pummeled two of his best men into unconsciousness now stood, feet askew, over his fallen counterpart.

This had not been part of the deal. The Saurian would have sent another blast of venomous spittle at the pair, but now the blood from his severed tongue was almost gagging him, filling his throat and lungs with the thick, coppery tasting fluid. "Thissss is not over yet," the lizard-man hissed angrily at the pair, then turned and loped into the woods, following the tracks of the two that T'Kai had frightened away.

T.K. and T'Kai looked at one another, then each nodded in satisfaction and admiration. As the golden-haired boy watched, the golden light of the Crest of Hope slowly seeped from his furry friend's body until the child was once again his normal size. "What... was that?" the young creature panted, again having to look _up _at T.K.

The boy was about to answer when he heard a moan at his back. "Oh my God. Davis!" he exclaimed, turning and kneeling at the brown-haired boy's side.

A portion of the Saurian's disjoined tongue was still wrapped about Davis' face, and T.K. quickly unwound it with disgust and cast it aside. The young boy turned his face away, wrinkling his nose at both the gruesome sight and horrid smell of the thick, tarry substance covering Davis' face. "Kari!" he shouted across the camp, not taking his eyes off of Davis. "Bring water! Quick!"

The brown-haired girl did so, taking the small canteen from her pack and hurrying over to T.K.'s side. She placed it into the boy's hands, then reeled away from the ghastly appearance of Davis' face. T'Kai was there as she turned, and took her hand in a comforting gesture.

T.K. ripped one of the sleeves off of his golden shirt and liberally splashed water over Davis' eyes and nose, then attempted to wipe it clean with the piece of cloth that he had torn off.

The substance proved almost impossible to remove entirely, but after a few moments T.K. managed to clean the worst of it from the brown-haired boy's eyes and mouth. Unfortunately, at that moment Davis gave another scream and started thrashing about on the ground, wildly flailing his arms and head in pain and horror. 

"Davis! Davis, stop!" T.K. exclaimed, attempting to corral his friend's appendages. "Help me!" he said quickly to T'Kai and Kari, indicating his comrade.

The pair, as well as the girl Kiara came quickly to his aid, each of them holding down a separate appendage in an attempt to keep Davis from hurting himself or anyone else as he thrashed about. Kari quickly whispered into the boy's ear, telling him that everything was all right, that the battle was over now, but Davis either could not hear her or was in too much agony to care.

Then Kiara let go of the arm that she had been holding and grabbed the shoulder of the young _a'ladon _at her side. "T'Kai!" she exclaimed to catch his attention, then nodded at the whistle that he had dropped earlier. "Quickly," she said, then hummed a few bars of a simple lullaby that the boy remembered from his youth.

T'Kai looked a bit confused, but did as the girl bade and scampered over to the tree to retrieve the small metal flute that he'd dropped earlier. When he returned he placed the whistle to his lips, calling to mind the song that Kiara had requested and started to play it as he knelt at the injured human's side. As he played, the female _a'ladon _whispered a soothing melody to the fallen human at her feet.

__

Great Peace, I bring to you

This peace, I offer you

Calm your fears and rest and soon

My peace will come to you

The boy looked up, surprised. He had never known that the particular little lullaby _had _any lyrics, but as he continued to play and the girl continued to softly sing the words it appeared to have the desired effect. Davis' thrashings slowed, then ceased, and though he continued to moan T.K. was finally able to finish the job of cleaning what he could off of the other boy's face.

"Davis?" T.K. murmured.

"Davis, say something," Kari murmured, looking up with concern at her the blond-haired boy who was her beloved. T.K. only shook his head in response, chewing ever so slightly on his bottom lip.

Then, to their surprise the boy did blink open his eyes. "Kari? T.K.?" he whispered, reaching out his hands feebly at the two of them. "I can't... I mean... I don't... "

T.K. looked grimly at Kari, who brought her hands to her mouth in alarm as they heard the other boy speak the words that they knew were coming.

Davis gave a quiet sniffle. "I'm blind... "


	6. Where the Heart is

Chapter Six

T'Kai's head was slightly askew and his expression was puzzled as he looked at T.K. "I am still not entirely certain that I understand, my Lord," he said with a frown. The human boy nodded. At the young _a'ladon's_ request, he had been trying to explain the evolution which he'd just had forced upon him during the battle against the Saurians.

"That's not surprising, T'Kai," T.K. answered. "But only because I'm the one trying to tell you about it, and I don't completely understand it myself. I wasn't even sure that I could get you to do it... but then, if you hadn't--" he stopped short. Both of them knew what the consequences would have been if the young human hadn't been able to effect the change in his little partner. There was no need to speak of it.

There was an awkward silence for a moment. "Does that mean that I was somebody else for those few minutes? Like... possessed?" the young creature cringed.

The human shook his head quickly. "No. Your evolution doesn't change _who _you are as much as it changes _what _you are... or better yet, what you can do. Think back. During that time, you were still the T'Kai we know, right? Still had the same memories? The same emotions?"

"Now that you mention it... I guess so," the furry creature answered. He appeared to turn the subject over in his mind for a few moments before he was completely comfortable with it. "And that can only happen to me if you want it to?"

T.K. pressed the Crest of Hope, which he had still not placed back beneath his shirt, into T'Kai's paw. "If all three of us want it to, T'Kai. You, me and our holy little facilitator there. Our purposes must be entirely the same for you to be granted that kind of power. It's not something that comes easily."

T'Kai looked across the camp to where Kari and Kiara were tending to Davis' eyes. The group had waited around for several hours, hoping that the brown-haired boy's sight would return naturally. It had not. And now the two girls were fashioning a bandage of sorts to wrap around the eyes of the sullen child. "Are you entirely certain that it's safe to leave them alone with him?"

"Do you still think that he's an incubus? After what just happened to him?"

The _a'ladon's _brow furrowed in puzzlement.

"Or a _D'aevis_, as your people call it?"

"It could still be a trick," the furry creature murmured, his deep distrust of the other human not having been diminished by its part in the battle.

"T'Kai, you've got to trust me in this. He's no demon. And if he was... well, what you think he is, I'm sure that he would have chosen a much more, uhm, tempting form to take."

T'Kai chewed thoughtfully on his lower lip. "The ruses and snares of the _D'aevis _are said to be many," he replied with a frown. "Who knows what tricks he may still employ to try to seduce Lady Hikari away from you. You are aware that he's already been trying, Lord?"

T.K. placed a hand on T'Kai's head and ruffled his reddish fur. "He's been at that for a long time, T'Kai. Don't worry about Kari. I trust her with everything that I am, and she does love me. She's been trying to get him to see that for a long time without directly coming out and telling him about it. I think she's afraid that she'll hurt his feelings or something. Davis can be... well, kind of obsessive sometimes."

T'Kai frowned as he continued to look at Kiara, carefully tending to the brown-haired human's eyes. "I think I'd better go get her before she actually starts caring about what happens to him," he murmured, a slight touch of apprehension in his voice.

T.K. placed a gentle hand on the other boy's shoulder. "T'Kai, don't get like that. Nothing good has ever come from getting suspicious of someone who's honestly trying to do good. If you feel for her what I think that you do, then putting your trust in her would seem to be a good place to start showing it."

The look that the _a'ladon _returned was almost charming in its sheepishness. He hadn't realized that he was being _that _obvious... but then, he _was _speaking with a god. "I guess you would know, wouldn't you?"

T.K. smiled as the pair stood, T'Kai accepting the human boy's hand to help him up. "Common sense sort of thing."

A moment later Kiara came over to join them. "The Lady Hikari wishes to see you, my Lord," she said softly and with a delicate curtsy, lowering her eyelashes demurely in T.K.'s presence.

The blond-haired human nodded and quickly trotted over to where Kari continued to tend to Davis' eyes. T'Kai moved to follow his mentor, but Kiara moved to stop him by gently taking the boy's paw in her own and pulling him close. The young creature turned back to her in surprise, then felt the breath as it caught in his throat in a silent and powerful adoration of the girl.

Both stood there silently for a few moments, enveloped in the simple yet impossibly profound joy of one another's presence. Though they had first laid eyes on each other the previous morning, and consciously a mere two hours ago, the reality was that each had been aware of the other since the moment of their respective births. "H... hh... hello," the young boy stammered nervously, tripping over the word. "I'm... I mean, my... my name is... T'Kai," he continued, finally able to get the words past his lips. He might have been angry with himself for behaving like a fool if he were not so focused on Kiara's presence.

"Yes, I know," the girl whispered soothingly, the musical quality of her voice coming through even though she was not singing. T'Kai was somewhat embarrassed. _She _didn't sound nervous at all as she reached forward and caressed his furry cheek. "I've known that for a very long time."

At that moment, T'Kai became very aware of their paws as they remained tightly clasped together, and he tried to swallow the nervous lump in his throat. He hoped that the girl couldn't feel him shaking.

T.K. sat down next to Kari on the other side of the camp, and together the pair watched the two young, love-struck _a'ladon. _"What did you need?" the blond-haired boy asked.

The girl glanced over in response, blinking at being drawn away from the pending scene. "Mmm? Need? Oh!" She stopped, and a tiny pink flush colored her cheeks. "Nothing really, I guess. I just thought that those two could use some time by themselves to get acquainted. Kiara wanted to get him alone."

The boy echoed her smile. "I kind of thought that you might have had something like that in mind."

Kari gave a brief glance over to where Davis sat sullenly, then quickly leaned forward and gave T.K. a soft, lingering kiss on his lips. The blond boy looked surprised, but just as quickly gathered his thoughts and returned the girl's gesture, quietly, so as to not upset Davis. After a few breathtaking moments, Kari pulled away and the boy blinked open his eyes. She leaned forward against his chest and rested her cheek on his own. "And I wanted to get you alone to tell you how brave you were this morning," she whispered, her lips just inches away from his ear. "You always make me so proud of you, T.K." She slowly pulled away, then gently caressed his other cheek with her hand before returning to Davis' side.

T.K.'s body felt limp as he watched Kari return to the crippled boy, and he bowed his head to revel in his love for the girl. And to consider her words as well, which in a strange, wonderful way were almost as delightful to him as her kiss.

With that the boy turned again to look back at T'Kai and Kiara, who were still holding paws and speaking quietly to one another. The human gave a good-hearted smile at the pair, particularly at T'Kai, who was fumbling around quite awkwardly and seemed uncertain of how to behave. Oh, yes, Kari did understand _very _well what was happening between those two.

And then the smile on his face saddened just a touch. He had seen for years now just how much that love could overcome, but he wondered if it would be enough to prevail over the girl's destiny. or the creature that she was on her way to meet. The blond-haired boy hoped for their sakes, he prayed that it would be.

************

The gray-skinned Saurian bellowed loudly as he raised the broken body of his frail former employer over his head and preceded to send it crashing into a large tree at the opposite side of the clearing where he and his two remaining minions had tracked the creature to. He'd brought shame on them all by leading them into that battle with the promise of a defenseless opposition. But they had not killed the _a'ladon _without first obtaining the information that they had wanted from it.

Again the creature turned and spat blood from his mouth, but he was pleased to see that it was no longer a very substantial amount. His people were known to heal very rapidly, and if given another day or so his tongue would have regenerated to the length at which it had been before the audacious _a'ladon _child had severed it.

"Where to now, my master... my brother?" one of the slightly smaller creatures murmured at his back. Both of them were ashamed at having been driven off by the modestly armed group during the perfectly planned ambush, but at least they _had _escaped. Who knew what that band of outlandish creatures had done with their three companions after the battle had been finished?

The leader paused, his thin eyes narrowing. "I think that I am beginning to understand this journey now," he hissed in response. "The female creature that they are bringing with them is meant to be an offering of sorts for some manner of fiend which dwells on the lower slope of this mountain. Our _friend _here," he indicated the body of the priest Karel, "has said that a great many of his people believe that if the sacrifice is not made, that fiend will go berserk among their lands, obliterating their race down to the newborn infant."

The other creature nodded, understanding completely.

"I think," the grayish creature said with a horrid grin, "that it would be a novel idea for us to find out if that particular belief is correct."

************

T.K. walked at the head of the group as they trod down the grassy path in the midst of the thick forest that enveloped them. At his side marched T'Kai and Kiara, still holding tightly to one another's paw. T.K. watched the pair with a gentle smile on his face. He was uncertain as to whether the two had released their grip on each other even once during the day. If was if they were determined to share what little time they had together in as close proximity as possible.

The human boy felt a deep sympathy for them. They'd spent almost their entire lives searching for one another, and now were destined to be forever parted within days. If it had been he and Kari in such a situation... he wasn't sure that he could bear the thought. He craned his head over his shoulder and looked back to where she walked, Davis' hand on her shoulder as she led him down the path. Sometimes he wished fervently that the two of them were not always seemingly required to be in the midst of one extraordinary adventure or another. He made himself a silent vow that once they finished whatever it was that they had been called here to do that he would make time for the two of them to just be alone for a while. His heart desperately longed for that time, and Kari certainly deserved it.

Davis smiled at the feel of Kari's warm skin beneath his hand. Though his blinded eyes could no longer see her, he still had a picture of the brown-haired girl affixed firmly in his mind. It seemed to the boy that she had been paying quite a lot of attention to him during the past day, and he smiled at the thought that she might finally be coming over to _his _side.

"Davis, stop that," the girl said as she felt his fingers begin to caress the flesh of her shoulder, then the nape of her neck.

The boy's grin instantly crumpled into a frown. _Nice going, idiot. Of course she doesn't want anything to do with me now_... _I'm a cripple_... _a freak. _"Sorry," he muttered, giving himself a swift, mental kick.

They walked on in silence for a while longer. "Kari?"

"Hmm?"

"Can I ask you something?"

The girl turned her head sideways. "Of course. You know you can always talk to me, Davis."

The boy swallowed, then reached up and scratched at the skin beneath the makeshift bandages which the others had fashioned for his eyes. He didn't know if it was a reaction from whatever it was that the lizard had spit into his face, but the skin up there was quite dry and tender for some reason. "How do you... feel about me?" He was afterwards never certain exactly how he had gathered up enough courage to finally _ask, _as opposed to trying to goad the girl into some sort of spur-of-the-moment response.

Kari winced. _Oh, boy. _"What do you mean, Davis? You're my friend... one of my best friends. You have been for a long time now." She trailed off, hoping that it would be enough of a response.

A hope which proved to be unfounded. "That's it?"

The girl gave a brief, almost imperceptible twitch. "What do you mean, 'That's it?'? You _are_ my friend. What else do you want me to say?"

Davis steeled his courage, biting down on the inside of his cheek. "How do you feel about T.K.?"

Kari flinched. "Davis, why are you--"

"Kari, please." The girl turned, astonished at what she heard in his voice. This was a side of Davis that she hadn't been at all prepared for. The tone of his words was almost... sad, or pleading. She knew just from listening that he knew, or at least suspected the truth; he hadn't always been blind, after all. But still she was hesitant to answer. She didn't want to hurt Davis, particularly not now when he had just lost his sight. But then T.K.'s admonition from a few days ago came back to her. _You know you're not doing him any favors by letting him pine over you like this._

The girl gave a quiet sigh, then looked ahead at T.K.'s back. Apparently Davis was finally ready for the truth from her, but how _much_ of the truth did he want? Did he want to hear how she felt a deeper connection with T.K. than she ever had with anyone else? How so very much she admired his goodness and quiet nature? That his well-being was always foremost in her thoughts, and that one loving glance from the blond-haired boy could leave her heart pounding against her chest for hours on end? Probably not. So instead she made the simpler choice. "Davis... I love him," she replied simply.

Davis swallowed audibly. "Like... like a brother?" he asked, the shallow, false hope ringing conspicuously in his voice.

Kari pursed her lips together. "No, Davis. Not like a brother. And I would know, because I know what it's like to love a brother."

Tears welled up in Davis' sightless eyes as he finally allowed what he had known for a long time to sink in. Soon the inside of the bandages covering his eyes was quite damp, further irritating his withered skin. "I never really had a chance, did I?" he murmured, swallowing deeply and choking on the words.

"That's not your fault, Davis. You just don't know what it's like between us... you can't. I was in love with T.K. a long time before I had any idea what the word really meant. It's no good for me trying to explain it to you now, because I've tried, and no one else understands what I'm trying to say. Not Tai, not even Sora or Yolei, who are supposed to understand love as well as anyone. T.K. is just a part of me... as much a part of me as my arm or my leg or my head."

"Just tell me one thing, Kari."

"Anything."

"If T.K. wasn't around... would I have had a chance?"

The girl spread her hands. "I don't know, Davis. Maybe. But if it wasn't for T.K. I don't even know if I'd be interested in that kind of love yet."

Davis gave a low, almost inaudible moan. "What does he have that I don't?" he whispered quietly, begging with the words for a response and with the tone to be ignored.

But if this was going to come to a head now, better to get it all out in the open at once. She'd dodged it long enough. "Davis, please don't compare yourself to T.K. That's not fair to either of you. You're a great guy with a lot of special qualities, and some day I'm sure that you'll make some girl very happy. But it can't ever be me."

"I guess that's blunt enough," he mumbled, his head bowing and his numb fingers slipping from her shoulder.

"Davis, give me your hand," Kari said, fumbling to regain a grip on the boy. "You'll trip and fall or something."

"What do you care?" he asked sullenly, letting his legs fall out from underneath him and dropping to his knees on the trail. "It's almost time for us to stop anyway. I can feel the sun beginning to set."

Kari looked at the sun dipping below the western horizon, wondering if that was what he'd truly meant or if the words had a more introspective meaning for him. "T.K.!" she called ahead to the blond-haired boy.

The other looked very contemplative and troubled as he turned back to her. "Can we stop now?" she asked.

T.K. looked at Davis, kneeling in the center of the path and then at T'Kai and Kiara, who were apparently still lost in one another's company. He nodded. "I guess this is as good a spot as any."

************

The green-skinned Saurian dragged the twisted and broken bodies of the _a'ladon _women from the cave which Karel's instructions had led them to. _That _had been a fight more along the line of what they had expected before. No losses, not even any resistance, just some loud screaming and the quick death of the six females.

Five of the bodies the creatures buried in a shallow grave some fifty feet from the entrance to the cave. The last one was made a meal of by the three, since they had not been privileged enough to eat fresh meat for some time before that. "They will be here early tomorrow," the gray-skinned leader said to the others, stripping the flesh away from a small bone and gesturing with it. "And according to that priest, without these women to instruct her the girl will have no idea what she is supposed to do. We will do away with the remaining four, and then..."

"Then we will see for ourselves just what this demon of theirs is capable of."

************

Kari grabbed T.K.'s hand and led him firmly away from the light of their camp, first making certain that the two _a'ladon _would keep their eyes on Davis and look out for any trouble as well. Kiara responded for both of the little creatures with a conspiratorial smile, then watched as the Lady Hikari led her Lord away to a more private locale. The young priestess had seen the determined look on the face of the other girl, as well as the confused expression on that of the boy god. How could he be both divine and yet so impossibly naive? He appeared to have no idea what was about to happen...

Kari almost dragged T.K. away from their companions and into the solitude of the nearby wood. After her talk with Davis and the violence and evil that she'd seen that day she needed desperately to have her belief in life and love renewed, and had been waiting the entire day to have it done. She could no longer bear witness to everything that she had without having some reminder that there was still good in the world, and she fully intended to cling to that good as tightly as possible.

The girl stopped the blond boy some distance from the camp, though they were still close enough to see the fire and certainly close enough to hear any calls that the others should make if their assistance was indeed needed. Making time to be alone with T.K. was one thing, but she was _not _going to endanger the others in case they should need help.

T.K. turned about, a frown on his face as he decided that she'd pushed him quite far enough into the forest without an explanation. "Okay, Kari, we're here, but you still haven't told me what you... mmph!'

The boy's words were interrupted in quite possibly the nicest way that he could imagine as Kari grabbed the back of his head and pulled him down for a kiss that was startling to him for both its suddenness and its intensity. His blue eyes popped open in astonishment for a moment before slowly easing to a close as he became enfolded in the tangible bliss of his affection for the girl. Then, slowly and so as to make certain not to break the bond of their lips, Kari guided the boy down to the ground and positioned him up against a nearby tree. With a certainty of purpose she lifted the hat from his head and placed it to the side, then wrapped her thin arms around his neck and pushed her body forward against his until T.K. felt crushed between the little brown-haired girl and the tree at his back.

It was easily the most delightful crushing that he could have hoped for.

After a few moments of much fondling from the girl, it suddenly occurred to him that Kari was taking this much further than either of them ever had before. Early on she had slipped her tiny hands beneath his golden shirt, and now those hands were tenderly caressing every inch of skin on the boy's slender back. Such attention from her was making his heart beat rapidly and his hair almost literally stand on end, and at her seeming insistence he placed his arms around her as well.

The boy chanced for a brief moment to ease open his eyes as he felt the sweat begin to form on his forehead. A great many tendrils of his golden hair were now well intermixed with the girl's, and her eyes were closed with the clear onset of what might best be described as a feverish passion. The now irrefutable knowledge that Kari was indeed serious about this pending elevation of their romantic bond should have excited him greatly. Should have, if not for...

Something tickled at the back of T.K.'s mind now... something important that he was supposed to remember. But whatever it was it was drowned out by the wildly romantic notions that raced through his head, reminding him that there was nothing more that he could possibly want at this moment than this, with her. Everything else could wait.

Now Kari straddled his lap, and she took his hands and moved them down to her waist. The boy wasn't entirely certain just what she wanted him to do until her fingers guided him through the process of untucking her shirt from her shorts. Now as he embraced her his hands were free to work their way up her bare back, his trembling fingers delighting in every new inch of skin that they found and every new goosebump that they encountered.

He leaned back, sighing in contentment as the girl's kisses trailed off of his lips and down the side of his face to the curve of his neck. At that moment he was certain that he was now feeling more alive than ever before, and he reveled in the emotion. There were no troubles with the world and no responsibilities to bear now. No promises to keep nor rules to obey. Just the two of them and the fierce love that was finally being allowed to bloom between them. Everything else could be secondary.

But then, just as passion drummed that last incorruptible thought from the boy's mind, the Crest of Hope around his neck and its counterpart of Light about Kari's wrist each exploded into a brilliant, cautionary aura.

Kari fell away from the boy in alarm, and T.K. stared down at the golden light on his chest in consternation. He was keenly uncomfortable as he suddenly became all too aware of the flush of passion on his cheeks, and he bowed his head as the holy little Crest chastised him repeatedly with its shimmering aura. Without even being called it forced upon the boy a closer bond between them, then shoved the hesitant little tickle that had been in the back of T.K.'s mind to the front and made him keenly aware of it. "My promise... My Vows..." the young human murmured quietly, forced to suffer the shame of having the Crest scold him for several more moments afterwards. As closely intertwined as the emotions of the pair were, it knew well what had just almost taken place and what he'd nearly surrendered to allow it to happen.

Then T.K. tucked in his shirt in embarrassment and watched as the girl did the same as the closing rebuke of his Crest trailed off into silence. _Obedience, Takeru, is one mark of what you will become... _

Then the boy took a single deep breath to make certain that he was again in control of himself, stepped forward and took the girl's hand in his own. Shamefaced, he bowed his head and dropped to one knee in front of her. "I'm sorry, Kari. So sorry. I shouldn't have let it come so close to that... to taking from you something that I have no rights to. At least, not yet," he said, looking up at her with self-consciousness in his innocent blue eyes and his heart very nearly broken within his chest. How close he'd come to failing her... "Please... please forgive me."

Kari swallowed deeply as she stared into those eyes, and she realized that she'd just done the last thing on earth that she ever wanted to do. She'd hurt him. She knew how important it was to the boy that they not be drawn into any overtly adult expressions of their love just yet, if she was not certain just why. But she also knew that she'd come too close that night to making him go beyond that unspoken limit that he'd sworn to, and it saddened her. Wasn't it supposed to be the other way around? Wasn't she supposed to be the one to keep him from going too far?

And now he was there on a knee, ashamed and blaming himself for this when he had to know that it was she that had planned out the whole scene. There was a strange sort of murmuring in her ears, and she glanced down at the Crest of Light that was bound to her wrist. It was almost as if the little relic was trying to tell her something. But that was simply not possible, of course. So now she took his other hand as well and pulled him to his feet, and smiled gently. "No, T.K.," she insisted. "_You _forgive _me. _I guess I'm the one that started all that. I just wanted some quiet time with you to prove to you how much I-- but I hadn't planned on it going that far."

And then something awful occurred to the boy, and he looked at her with concern etched on his young face. "Kari? You... you _do _know that this doesn't mean that I don't love you, right? I mean... I mean..." He paused, stammering, as if searching for words that would not come to him and then looking frustrated when he could not find them. "Kari, I'm _sorry_. I don't know why I don't want to do this, 'cause I _do _want to do this, but I just... there's just..."."

The girl smiled and placed two fingers across his lips to silence him. "T.K., be quiet. You don't have to explain, or apologize for being right, either. But... well, I just wanted to tell you that... you know... someday... "

The boy nodded, understanding what she was trying to say. And the Crest... it was well satisfied with what he'd said and told him so. Love was another mark of what he would be, but he could not disregard the rest in his anxiousness to prove it. "I know, Kari. There's so much to do between now and then. But I promise... and I really promise... I will wait."


	7. The a'ladon and the beast

Chapter Seven

T'Kai rested one furry paw on a folded knee as he sat beside the embers of the dying fire, quietly staring at the gentle face of Kiara as the morning sun crept over the horizon at his back. He lowered his head against his shoulder, bowed by the mental anguish of a reality that he could no longer deny.

"Go _away,_" the young boy whispered desperately at the coming of the dawn; the breaking day that would forever rob him of joy. He was being childish about it all, he knew, but after a long night of thinking he was convinced that simply allowing this to happen with no resistance would haunt his soul forever afterwards.

The young creature gave a small start as he heard a rustling at his back, then at once calmed down as his Lord Takeru came to his side and knelt beside him. "Did you stay up all night again?" the blond-haired human asked in a whisper, glancing over at the other boy with evident concern in his eyes.

The _a'ladon_ looked to be on the verge of tears, and did not turn away from Kiara as he answered. "I did not want to sleep, Lord. I feared that if I should, the morning would be here all the sooner."

T.K. looked back over his shoulder at the imminent sunrise. "And yet staying awake didn't stop it from coming, either."

T'Kai's lips quivered for a moment, then he gave a short whimper of grief and turned to the other, flinging himself into the arms of the young human and embracing him tightly. He buried his face into the boy's shoulder and wept fiercely, great sobs making his little body shudder in pain. "Lord! I... I can't... I can't do this!" he stammered. "I thought that I might, but now know that I can't! It hurts too much even to think about it... _I can_'_t..." _He had too long denied the truth of what he had to do that day, and could no longer stand under the weight of that truth without someone to bear it with him.

T.K. wrapped his exposed arm, the one which had been left bare when he had torn the sleeve from it in a failed attempt to save Davis' sight, around the young creature tightly. "I'm so sorry, T'Kai. I am... more than I can say. I know how hard this must be for you, feeling for her what you do."

The little creature continued to whimper for several more moments, moments during which T.K. remained cautiously silent and could only hold the _a'ladon _tightly as he wept. There was nothing that the young human could say which would not sound both contrived and shallow. Though he could be there for the other boy, he could not know his pain. It was a long time that T.K. held the little creature until his crying mercifully came to an end, and then T'Kai turned his blue, tear-stained face to the blond human. "Lord? Will you... will you do something for me?"

T.K. nodded once, solemnly. "I will. Anything."

The boy's lips were still quivering and the tears were still in his eyes, but now the rest of his expression had become solid and composed. "Then... then I want you to teach me to speak 'Takeru's Vows', my Lord."

The human was taken aback for a moment, not having been prepared for such a request from the other. But he instantly recognized the enormous significance of it. Unless traditions had changed significantly since their last visit to this land, T'Kai would essentially be asking Kiara to wed if he recited to her what the _a'ladon _knew as 'Takeru's Vows'. Perhaps more. He would be pledging his life to hers, vowing never to consider another to be his wife even if she did not accept him as her mate. T.K. hesitated for a moment. "T'Kai, I don't think--"

"Lord, you promised," the child murmured persistently. The look on his face was almost desperate, and he took both of the boy's hands in his little paws and squeezed them tightly. _"Please."_

The human boy's heart was heavy as he saw the determination in the other's eyes. "And you'll hold me to that promise, T'Kai?" he asked, looking down at the boy sadly and remembering what Mylam's grandfather Killian had told him long ago. _The Vows are holy, Lord. The most sacred promises that any of us can speak to another. Of you it is said that your flesh shall fail before your Vows will, and our faithfulness can be no less. _His expression was grave as he pulled the little creature's paws close to his chest. "You know what the Vows mean, else you would not have asked. Are you sure that's what you want?"

"Lord, I will lose her within the day. I know now that nothing can prevent that. I must leave her with something, and have nothing else to offer."

The profound declaration struck at T.K.'s heart, so deep and evident was the emotion of the other boy. He could not remain with Kiara nor she with him, yet T'Kai would bind his life to hers for ever after. No. No, he could not allow the boy to do that. No when he was so young, with so many years left in his future.

But then the young human stopped, the words of denial still on his lips. Had he not, in word and in deed, made essentially the same promise to Kari? His own life was the basis for the laws of the _a'ladon_, and it was his devotion to the girl that had given rise and meaning to the creatures' Vows. Sometimes he had acted clumsily and awkwardly blurted out what the little creatures said so poetically as they knelt before their chosen mate, but in the end, was it not the same? He had promised his life to Kari, and very nearly given it for her on several occasions. How could he deny T'Kai the chance to knowingly do the same?

"All right, then, T'Kai," the human boy said quietly, moving his head close to the _a'ladon's. _"This is what your people say... "

************

Kari was awake moments later, and smiled a charming _'_good-morning' in T.K.'s direction. The two had slept side by side the previous night, T.K. no longer overly concerned with his passionate desire for the girl after having renewed his vows as his Crest had bade. He was strong, and could hold tightly to those vows. Yet his words in no way prevented the pair from sharing with one another a lovingly extended series of goodnight kisses before sleep finally came upon them.

At once she caught the heavy-hearted expression on his face, though he moved quickly to conceal it from her. The look was so seemingly disconsolate, in fact, that for a moment she worried for his well-being. And so, after giving Davis a brief nudge to rouse him from his sleep, she moved to his side and took his hand in her own. "T.K.? Is something wrong?"

He ran his fingers through his hair, and for once didn't seem to care as several strands came to rest directly in front of his eyes. "I think I made a mistake," he confessed, seemingly engrossed in the study of their conjoined hands. "Maybe a bad one. But I don't think I'll ever know for sure. Is it a mistake to make a bad decision when there aren't any good ones, Kari?"

She turned her head sideways, studying his face. "Do you mean about last night?"

Now he did look up, and smiled just a little. "No. No, we did right last night. At least in the end. But now..." The boy trailed off and looked back to where T'Kai sat, alone and evidently deep in thought.

Kari followed his eyes, and seemed to comprehend the boy's dilemma. Which was somewhat surprising in itself, as she'd been sound asleep when the pair had been speaking earlier. "T.K., if you told him what you think is right then it's all you could do. He trusts you, but he's bright enough on his own." She looked at him quizzically. "What did he ask you about?"

The boy shook his head in response. "He didn't want me to tell you about it. You'll find out later, anyway. We're supposed to witness for him... or something like that. Come on. Let's go see how Davis is holding up this morning. That rash on his face looked like it was starting to get worse."

'Worse' was not the word for it. Sometime during the night the brown-haired boy had unconsciously pulled off the makeshift bandages that had been covering his eyes, and now Kari and T.K. were able to see just how bad the condition of his face had become. "Oh my God," Kari exhaled in horror, then quickly silenced herself by bringing a hand up to cover her mouth.

"What's wrong?" the other demanded as he reached up to scratch at the dry, tender skin around his eyes. But what he could not see, and apparently could not feel either, was that each time he drew his fingers across the injury his nails pulled off a great amount of the damaged flesh. And he had evidently been scratching at it for a very, very long time.

"Davis, stop!" T.K. exclaimed, leaping forward and pulling Davis' hands away from his face, gripping his wrists tightly.

"Hey! Get the hell off of me, T.J.!" Davis returned, violently yanking his hands out of the other's grasp and continuing to rub at the blisters surrounding his eyes.

A small trickle of blood rolled down the left side of the boy's face, a thin trickle that he didn't even seem to notice as he continued to scratch. "Jeez, this is driving me nuts!" he complained, irritated.

"Davis!" Kari snapped, managing to steel herself against the gruesome sight long enough to stay the boy's hands. "You hold still so we can put those bandages back on your eyes right this instant!"

Davis gave a broad smile in the direction of the girl's voice; a smile which further cracked the surface of the tender skin around his face and caused an alarmingly large lesion to appear on his upper cheek. "Worried about me, huh, Kari? And you almost had me thinking that you didn't care."

"Of... of course I care, Davis!" the girl stammered insistently even as she closed her eyes against the horrific sight. The blindness was bad enough, but now it was clear to her that the Saurian's spittle was eating away the boy's flesh right in front of her eyes. And there was nothing that they could do for him...

"Oh, _okay_," the boy drawled out, then paused and rubbed at the injury one last time. His hand, as he pulled it away, was covered with blood. "But I swear that this itching is going to drive me insane."

************

It was much later in the day by the time that T.K. and Kiara alone reluctantly concluded that they'd done all that they could for Davis. T'Kai had remained off by himself the entire time, possibly thinking over what he was about to say to the girl or possibly in silent protest to actually helping the dark-haired human recover from his injury. And Kari could no longer cope with the sight of the other boy's ruined face enough to be of any meaningful help. Not without becoming physically ill. And so T.K. and the young _a'ladon_ priestess were forced to extemporize a solution to the problem as best they could.

Kiara had surrendered the smooth, pinkish sash that had been draped over her shoulder as a new bandage for Davis' face. It was much longer and much more smooth than the material of T.K.'s shirt that they'd used earlier, which hopefully would prevent any further irritation of the wound. And though T.K. was no doctor, he nodded in understanding as the girl warned him about the pending danger of infection. But none of this made its way to Davis' ears as T.K. moved to his side and placed an affable hand on his shoulder. "Feeling any better?"

"If I say yes, will you two go away? Where's Kari?"

T.K. looked to where the brown-haired girl stood alone. Her back was to them all, but he could tell from the visible shaking of her shoulders that she was crying. "I think she had a headache and went to sit down for a while. She needed a rest before we moved on."

Davis grunted in an evasive fashion as T.K. moved to Kari's side and placed his hands gently upon her shoulders. "You okay?" he asked gently, feeling the girl shake beneath his grasp.

"Oh, _T.K. _That's just. I mean, what are we going to _do_ for him?"

The blond-haired boy frowned. "Quietly... not where he can hear us," he whispered, guiding the girl to the opposite side of the camp and glancing back over his shoulder at the other boy before sighing in frustration. "I don't know what to do, Kari. I've never seen anything like it before. I guess we've just got to keep his hands away from his face as much as we can, but Kiara's right. Sooner or later that's going to get infected. We'll just have to get him back to our world as soon as we can, then hopefully... " he trailed off, as clueless about what to do as she was.

The pair stayed silent for a moment before T.K. caught sight of their two young _a'ladon _friends creeping silently away from the camp, paw-in-paw. He nodded, then indicated them to the girl. "Come on. We can't do anything more for Davis right now, but T'Kai said it was important to him for us to see this. I think he wants your approval."

Kari returned a quizzical look. "Approval for what?"

"You'll see. Trust me, it'll be more fun for you if you're surprised."

Kari's interest was more than piqued. "Davis!" she called to the boy, who sat alone and was sullenly gnawing on one of the little strips of dried meat that the _a'ladon _had provided them in the way of food. "Don't go anywhere. We'll be back in a second."

Davis in no way acknowledged the words, so Kari had no way of knowing whether or not he understood, but T.K. would not be stalled in this matter and followed T'Kai with the girl's hand still firmly in his grasp.

The two human children crept very close to the thick grove of trees, then quietly sat down on the verdant ground and watched as T'Kai led Kiara into the clearing by the paw. Kari looked to T.K. in confusion, but the boy only nodded to the other pair in response. When at last the two reached the center of the dell, T'Kai released his grip on the girl and stood with his back to her for a couple of moments as if steeling his courage.

Kiara, to her credit, said not word about her young Warden's mysterious behavior as she stood there quietly, continuing to gaze at his back. Then the little _a'ladon _boy turned around suddenly and dropped to one knee in front of her, once again taking her paw in his own. The whiskers on his nose were twitching just a bit as he spoke. "Kiara... I know that we haven't known each other for very long, so what I'm about to say may sound a little... awkward." He paused, and looked at her with a curious expression on his face. "But then, maybe you _will _understand when no one else would."

The girl remained silent, smiling down upon the red-haired boy at her feet. Her heart was in those eyes, as it had been since the magic of T'Kai's Holy Symphony had awakened her the prior day. T'Kai tried (unsuccessfully) to swallow the lump in his throat, the lump that now threatened to choke him at the most inopportune moment. His paws started to tremble, but his voice was surprisingly clear as he began his recital of the holy pledge that T.K. had taught him earlier. "Kiara? I p... promise to set your life above my own, and shall in all things defend you. This... _this is my vow_."

T.K. dared to glance sideways at that moment, wondering if Kari would share his concerns about this. The two young creatures would soon be forcibly separated, and T'Kai would have bound himself in a relationship that he could not consummate even if Kiara accepted his suit. But Kari, far from being concerned, seemed elated as she watched the scene unfold and clapped her hands together at hearing the words as they passed from T'Kai's lips.

"When night falls for you and in your darkest hour, I will sustain you with all that I am. _This is my vow_," the boy continued. He was no longer stuttering, and a halo of light fell through the canopy of trees to surround him as he spoke; an almost noble expression on his young face. "My own life shall I guard in your honor. _This is my vow_."

Kari's hand slid into T.K.'s and squeezed it tightly, and silently she moved closer until she was sitting right next to the boy, her thigh resting against his own. He allowed himself a weak smile as she rested her head against his shoulder. If she believed that T'Kai would come to no harm by speaking the Vows it was something that he would have to take into consideration.

T'Kai looked a bit flustered at his next words (as had T.K. when he'd instructed the boy), but faithfully continued on with his recital. "Your maiden's virtue shall I cherish the most, and neither I nor any other shall dishonor it until we are bound as one. These are my vows, Lady Kiara, for you are my light and I will never have another." Then the boy slowly lowered his eyes and pressed his forehead to the girl's paw.

After a long and tortuous moment of awkward silence Kiara stepped in close to the boy and took his bowed head in both of her paws, raising it so that she might look at his face. "I love you, T'Kai... little keeper of the promise," the girl replied melodiously, bending over and pulling his furry face forward to her own.

Tears were now falling steadily from Kari's eyes, and she wiped them away with her sleeve as she turned to the boy at her side. "Oh... _T.K._" she murmured quietly, embracing the boy's hand tightly. "I almost forgot how beautiful that was."

And now T.K. felt a faint tugging at his soul, and the Crest of Hope warmed gently against the skin of his chest. The boy was confused for a moment at the unexpected contact, but then the holy little relic put the words into his mouth that Kari most needed to hear at that moment. Her need to hear them was the reason for their perhaps overly anxious romantic encounter the night prior, and his voice dropped to a whisper as he spoke. "You see, Kari? There is still good; there is still an honest love about in the world. Some times it's just easier to see the unpleasant things..."

Kari was speechless and her face awestruck as she listened to the gentle words pass his lips, and her own lips were set to quivering as though she might cry. Did he... did he really know her so well that he knew just what she needed to see and hear at this moment? An affirmation that love had not abandoned them there, all alone in the midst of such evil? She sat silently for another moment or so and her eyes roamed freely over his face, the girl so happy that she didn't know how to express it.

Then she broke down and threw her arms around his neck, embracing him so tightly that the boy was almost thrown off balance. She squeezed him hard and buried her face into the curve of his neck before once again finding a voice that was still marked by a trembling sound of joy. "Did... did you teach him that, T.K.?"

T.K. gave a nod, and rubbed her shoulder gently. "He wanted to tell her... well, before... " He trailed off. There was no need to speak of the ultimate tragedy of the circumstances between the two young creatures now. That the love they'd waited on for so long could only be realized for a brief period of hours. Kiara's duty to her Order was clear, and she would not abandon the _a'ladon _to fulfill her own self-seeking needs.

Kari sighed, then reluctantly sat back up. It _had _been what she needed, and the girl felt stronger now and ready to face whatever else should set upon them. She smiled at T.K. "Come on. Let's go check on Davis again. These two should be alone for a while."

T.K. glanced back one last time at the little _a'ladon_, watching affectionately as the two stood there in the center of their glen, toe-to-toe and nose-to-nose and stroking one another's faces with their furry paws. "Yeah. Yeah, I guess they should," he agreed quietly.

************

T.K. stood with his arm about Kari's waist, the wind winding through his golden-blond hair as the little group stood on a small crag that overlooked the mouth of the cave which was their destination. A storm was beginning to gather overhead, and the temperature had dropped considerably since the clouds had first determined to black out the sky. The boy glanced to the side. "Are the two of you ready?" he asked, looking past Kari to the two young _a'ladon._

"No," whispered the forlorn T'Kai in response, not even looking at the human for having his eyes locked on the mouth of the cave.

Kiara's lips quivered at the response, and she leaned her head on the taller _a'ladon _boy's shoulder. "T'Kai... my most beloved, you know that it must be this way. For our people. If I can trust in you to fulfill your vows, how can I possibly fail in my own?"

T'Kai could not respond... the terrible sorrow of their tale was heavy enough that the boy felt bowed beneath its weight. And so he was forced to signal his surrender to necessity through a helpless nod as he took the paw of his young ward and led her down the narrow pathway towards the gaping mouth of the cave. T.K., Kari and Davis followed wordlessly, the girl walking between the two boys as she kept a tight grip on each of their hands.

T.K. rested his stave against his shoulder as the humans caught up with the _a'ladon, _who had stopped at the cave's mouth. He placed a tentative hand upon the soft brown fur of Kiara's shoulder, and gave a warm squeeze of affection. "Is this it?" he asked her gently. "Do you go on alone from here?"

The young girl looked, for the first time now, confused and uncertain. Her brow was furrowed deeply as she spoke. "I'm... I'm not sure, Lord. I don't really know what I'm supposed to be doing. I know that I am not supposed to awaken until I am inside, so I suppose that it must be..." She took a hesitant step forward.

T'Kai did not drop her paw, stubbornly refusing to let her go. "T'Kai," she whispered under her breath and in a despondent voice, not turning to face him.

Then the young boy exhaled a distressed resignation as his paw went limp and finally slip from Kiara's grasp. The girl's fingers twitched as if she would reach back for him, then came still and fell at her side. A small breeze wafted forth from the cave as Kiara stepped forward into darkness, and T'Kai frowned. His face came alive again as he jerked to attention. "Wait," he said sharply.

"T'Kai--"

"No, Kiara. I smell... Saurians."

Then Kiara lifted her furry snout in the same manner as the boy, sniffling at the air issuing from the cave. With her pretty mouth tied in a grimace, she glanced over to the humans. "He's right," she murmured. "And something else... there has been death here recently."

T'Kai stepped into the cave alongside Kiara and placed his forepaw atop her furry shoulder. "I'm coming in with you," he said fiercely, his tone leaving no room for argument. "I may have to give you up, but I won't let you get hurt. Not so long as I can prevent it." The girl opened her mouth to protest once again, then silently allowed it to close into a grateful smile.

Kari glanced to her side at T.K. and motioned for him to make the decision. "Us too?"

The blond-haired boy hesitated for just a moment. As he'd indicated to Kari earlier in the day, he had the uncomfortable feeling that this was one of those times that there was no good decision to be made. The purpose of the entire journey was to get Kiara safely inside this cave, and if there was danger in the offing then T'Kai was unlikely to be able to handle it alone. But Davis would be a severe hindrance to them if there was trouble ahead.

After a long moment, he grimaced in resignation. "I'll go. If there's going to be trouble then they'll need me. But I think that it'd be better if you stayed out here with Davis, Kari. He's in no shape to fight."

Kari responded with a small pout, but was just about to agree when a seething Davis interrupted her words of acquiescence. "Oh, sure. You'd like that, wouldn't you T.K.? You go inside and be the hero again while I stay out here and be useless. Well you can _forget it_. I go where I want to, and I'm going in there with you whether you like it or not."

"Davis? What are you trying to--"

"I'm just as good as you!" the brown-haired boy fumed, shouting in the direction of the other boy's voice and his hands closed in angry fists at his side. "So you can forget about trying to show me up in front of Kari again, got it?"

"Davis, come on. This isn't about--"

"Just shut up, T.K.! Shut up! I'm going in, and there's nothing you can do to stop me!" With that the brown-haired boy started towards the entrance to the cavern, hands held out in front of his sightless eyes.

T.K. looked resigned to frustration, and bowed his head in Kari's direction to indicate to the girl that she should once again lead the other boy onward. He pulled the stave off of his shoulder and gripped it tightly in his left hand, but could not help but feel that there was _something _wrong with allowing Davis into that murky cavern. For just a moment, he was gripped by the completely illogical sensation that the place was trying to draw the dark-haired boy inside while desperately pushing to keep the other four of them away. But it _was _illogical, and he had no right to keep Davis away in any event. And so it was with a disquieted sigh that the golden-haired human child joined his companions on their trek into the depths.

And watching them from high atop the mountain, another pair of brown eyes closed in pain against the fateful decision of that one. He reached for the great trump at his side and was ready to sound it in warning, but then his paw clenched tightly and fell away from the mighty horn. The choice had been made, and he was forbidden to countermand the free will of mortals. He had hoped that the boy Takeru would have been able to prevent that disastrous decision, else that the boy Davis would have matured enough by this time to deny his foolish pride and jealousy.

"Oh, blind one... when will you finally see? Do you even know of the stripes that shall be laid upon this world because of what you have chosen? What you will take from them there are none that can give back."

************

A velvet curtain of darkness enfolded the small group as they walked slowly in, T'Kai leading Kiara firmly by the paw. Behind them trailed Kari, again holding onto the hands of both T.K. and Davis, the one out of love, the other out of concern. She also recognized the wisdom in T.K.'s reasoning for leaving Davis outside, but once again the brown-haired boy's unreasonable jealousy had overcome common sense. If there should be a fight he would be utterly useless and helpless without his sight, and was coming along simply in a grudging attempt to prove himself the equal of his golden-haired rival.

"I don't understand, my lord T'Kai," Kiara murmured quietly to the Warden at her side. "There are supposed to be many Sisters of my Order gathered here to instruct me on how I am to appease D'assan. I... I don't have any idea what I'm supposed to do without them."

T'Kai stopped the girl, and laid a tender paw upon her cheek. "No matter what, dearest... I know that you'll do right," he whispered quietly.

Kiara pulled the boy close and exhaled a gentle breath, abundantly grateful that he had chosen to remain with her despite her reservations. Her love for him had steeled her courage and allowed her to enter into that dark cavern, when she was not certain that she could have continued alone.

Daylight quickly faded behind the little group, and Kari instinctively raised her left wrist above her head that the Crest of Light would send forth its heavenly aura to illuminate the dark cavern. Now the light was soft and innocuous, responding to the girl's calm manner instead of lashing out with its violent radiance as it had when she'd been forced to defend against the Saurian the previous day.

"T.K., I don't like this," the girl said quietly to the boy. "Something doesn't feel right here."

Over the years T.K. had come to respect the girl's feelings, and in any event the lingering sensation of antagonism that he'd felt from the cavern earlier still echoed at his back. "I know," he answered, reaching beneath his shirt and coming up with the Crest of Hope. At the moment its golden hue was muted and without brilliance, save for a brief moment when it flickered at him in irritation at having been roused from its time of rest without need. It had been expended a terrific amount of energy the previous day, both in the battle and in its scathing communication with the boy, and though it could pour out such power in exponentially greater intervals if need be it was only after a period of rest that it felt completely comfortable again.

The attack came without warning.

Silently a long, prehensile tongue shot out of the shadows ahead of them and wrapped itself around T.K.'s wrist, yanking the Crest from his hand and sending it scattering across the cavern floor while pulling the boy forward and off of his feet. Kiara screamed as T'Kai quickly whipped out his long dagger, but then another of the creatures' tongues snaked forth from the darkness and wrapped itself around the _a'ladon's _furry paw and pulled the weapon from his fingers.

As the two boys struggled against the seemingly impossible strength of their captors the third, the gray-skinned leader of the group, stepped forward from the shadows. "Now, _that _is a bit more like what I had in mind last time."

"Kari! What's happening?" Davis murmured fearfully, clutching for the girl as he once again heard the guttural voice of the one who had blinded him.

The heavily muscled creature slid over to Kiara's side even as T'Kai struggled to pull his paw free from the slimy tongue of his captor. The girl cringed away from the reptilian claw that reached for her. "And you, child... you are the promised sacrifice for the demon that would torment your people, yes?"

"Get away from her!" T'Kai howled, furiously pulling against the bond that the lizard-man's tongue had around his furry forepaw. Feverishly and in vain he struggled, and for a moment T.K. was fearful that the boy might willingly yank his own arm off to get at the leader of the creatures.

But T.K. was more aware of his surroundings than the _a'ladon _boy was, and bit back the righteous anger that was blinding the other. He could see that the Crest that had been pulled from his grasp was much too far away for him to reach while he remained bound as he was, but T'Kai's little weapon, on the other hand.

The golden-haired human gave one tremendous pull against the tongue that bound his wrist and then darted forward towards the Saurian, diving at its clawed feet and grasping for the handle of the _a'ladon's_ little weapon. Feeling his fingers come into contact with the cold metal hilt, the boy rolled to his feet and shouted for T'Kai as he hurled the sword blade-over-pommel towards the young creature.

The leader of the Saurians saw what was happening and sent a gob of gooey black mucus at T.K.'s face, but this boy was much faster and more aware than the one that he'd blinded the day before. This time the young human ducked to the ground, and both of them heard the venomous spittle as it struck the face of his captor instead. The green-skinned creature released its hold on T.K. as the saliva splattered into its eyes, causing it to cry out with an eerie wail of agony. Out of the corner of his eye, T.K. watched as T'Kai somehow managed to snatch his little weapon out of the air without severing his own fingers, then in one clean stroke sliced off the tongue of the creature which had been holding him.

T.K. extended his hand and leapt for the Crest of Hope, which was calling to him from the far side of the long corridor. But just as he jumped he could feel the tongue of his assailant once again snake forward to wrap around his ankle, the lizard having shaken off his leader's unintended attack with very little damage to himself. The air burst forth from T.K.'s lungs as he hit the stone floor hard, his leg pulled out from underneath him. Frantically he scrambled for the shimmering Crest, just inches out of his grasp. Behind him, the Saurian pulled in the opposite directions just as desperately... both knowing that the outcome of the battle would likely be decided in their impromptu tug-of-war.

This time the vigor of the young human was just enough to overcome the lizard man's strength, and the Crest of Hope exploded into golden light as his fingers closed around it.

"T'Kai, _now!"_ T.K. shouted, throwing the fiery Crest towards the cavern ceiling and allowing its holy aura to rain down upon the young _a'ladon _boy_._

The little creature's breath caught in his throat as he stood there, staring upwards and transfixed by the great golden light that washed over him. The tiny incandescent cinders of gold that effused forth from the little relic seemed to hang suspended in midair for just a moment, then marshaled themselves into formation and fell upon his body in an almost affectionate surge. T'Kai exhaled a loud gasp as the power of the young human's spirit once again joined with his furry body, strengthening him, changing him, until once again he was evolved into the great vulpine champion of the _a'ladon _people.

T'Kai stood with his eyes closed as the tempest surrounding him died down and the symphonic hymn that was in his ears gradually faded into silence. Then he turned his head to the side and caught sight of the Saurian that he had already wounded. With his strength now much greater than his opponent's, T'Kai leapt forward and drove his shoulder into the creature's stomach, knocking it backwards and to the ground.

"T.K.!" called Kari, picking up the boy's discarded stave and sending it rattling along the stone floor to his side. The human boy stopped the weapon's progress with his foot, then knelt and grabbed onto it firmly with both of his hands.

T'Kai heard the now familiar, guttural sound as the Saurian chieftain sprayed another gob of ichor at his back, and he quickly whirled about with a shout of "Grand Cross!" The boy's great blade, which had been transmuted just as he had, cut cleanly through the black spittle and sprayed it away from his face. As the lizard-man stared at him, astonished at the abject failure of his attack, T'Kai reached for the whistle strapped around his neck and brought it to his lips. As his paw fell upon the instrument the great light gleamed once again, and the single, tin device in his grasp changed as well, reforming itself into the form of a golden syrinx.

Without hesitation and again without knowing exactly _how _he knew what to do, the Warden blew a short series of shrill notes from the musical instrument in the direction of the lead Saurian.

The lizard-man gasped and fell to his knees, clawing frantically at his ears as the sound wafted forward to envelop him. The seemingly pleasant little tune was to him as a banshee's call, and it surrounded him and crushed both soul and body with an immeasurable force. He could not move, could not breathe... could not even think for the hallowed force that was being poured out upon him by the simple little melody. Closing his eyes and howling against the agony that the music vested upon him the creature started to squirm feverishly, then stiffened and fell face-forward to the floor as he exhaled his last breath.

On the far side of the cave, T.K. reversed his grip on his long stave and threw it like a spear from his position on the floor, nodding in satisfaction as it hit his Saurian captor squarely on the nose and sent it stumbling backwards into the cave wall. Feeling the creature's tongue retract from about his ankle, T.K. scrambled to his feet and swept up his weapon, then rushed forward and caught the pain-blinded creature with a quick series of blows to the ribs.

T'Kai leveled his great sword at the other green lizard calmly, his cobalt eyes staring down the shiny steel blade at it. "Leave," he ordered the creature, gesturing towards the cavern entrance with his weapon. "Leave, return to your lands and tell your people what happens to those who will dare enter the lands of the _a'ladon._"

Terror shown in the narrowed eyes of the creature, and he weakly picked himself off of the stone floor and limped back in the direction of the cave's egress. His partner, staggered from the pummeling that T.K. had poured out upon him, moved to join the first. "And take that with you," T'Kai finished, flicking his long blade at the body of their fallen leader.

The two Saurians bowed their heads in defeat, then each placed a scaly claw beneath the body of the gray creature and started to drag him from the cave. T.K. went to stand at T'Kai's side, and together the two boys watched the lizard-men depart. "I really hope that that's the last we see of those things," the _a'ladon _murmured, looking across at his partner.

T.K. nodded his agreement wearily as Kari stepped forward and gingerly took his hand in her own. "Are you okay?" she asked him gently, concern in her eyes.

The boy nodded, running his fingers back through his golden hair with a sigh then pulling her forward into a tight embrace. "I'm fine, Kari. I just wish that we didn't have to be fighting all the time. It's starting to weigh on me. It's making me so... I don't know... so _tired_."

Kari leaned forward, resting her forehead against the blond boy's chest. "Be strong, T.K. This can't go on forever," she whispered to him. "But while it is, I want you to know that I'll always be here if you need me."

T.K. pressed his lips against the top of her head, breathing in the pleasant fragrance of her hair. The Crest of Light in her hand continued to shimmer with her love for the boy, illuminating the cavern to an even greater extent than before. and included in the area that they could now see was a stone portal carved into the far wall, partially obscured by the shadows cast about the cave. T.K. released Kari from his embrace long enough to turn and see what the girl was staring at. With sadness in his eyes he looked over to where T'Kai (who was now much taller than his promised mate) stood silently with his arm about her shoulders, also staring at the doorway.

"Come on," the young Warden murmured sadly. "Let's get this over with."

************

A searing heat washed over the group as they passed through the doorway, the vulpine creature that was T'Kai leading the way with his great weapon tightly gripped in his paw. Close behind him, standing in the long shadow that he now cast was the girl Kiara. In the center of the group marched T.K., the burden of too many years of fighting weighing heavily upon his young shoulders, and behind him followed Kari and Davis, the girl still leading the blind boy on.

The five stepped out onto a narrow stone walkway, which spiraled down into the depths of the mountain. Kari leaned forward to peer over the edge but then stepped quickly back again, unnerved at just how far down the spiral path went. And more disturbing still, the brown-haired girl thought that she had perhaps caught a glimpse of a red-hot fire down at the very end of her range of vision.

The group walked along the pathway for what seemed to be an endless time, breathing becoming increasingly difficult for the heat and the sulfurous odor in the mountain. The sweat soaking Davis' bandaged face now mingled with the blood that he continued to shed beneath the cloth, combining with the other unpleasant elements of the cave to make him distinctly uncomfortable.

Through it seemed like hours, it was probably only fifteen minutes later when the group came to another small doorway in the opening of the wall of the cave beside the path which they were following. T'Kai looked back at Kiara. "Is this the place?" he asked, his long ears twitching as his sharp blue eyes (the only part of him which had not noticeably changed) stared at her.

"I... I don't know," she whispered. "It could be... but it seems to me that somehow--" Then she trailed off, wiping away tears with the back of her paw and choking back a sob.

T'Kai was grim in his resignation, and without another word turned and entered. It was piercingly dark in that room, but then Kari stepped in behind the large _a'ladon _and caused the shadows to melt away and unwilling surrender to the great light of her Crest.

T.K. moved in front of the girl as he heard a raspy voice begin to speak from somewhere on the far side of the chamber. "The light... " it exhaled in evident lamentation. The voice was haunting for its lack of any depth or soul whatsoever. "It burns. Stop it, please. I beseech you to make it stop."

The little Crest bound about Kari's wrist dimmed somewhat as the tension in her muscles eased, but still the holy aura did not cease all together. The eyes of T'Kai (being the sharpest of the group) caught a glimpse of a small, very dark-skinned creature sitting on what appeared to be a ridiculously oversized dais halfway across the room. Shortly thereafter the eyes of the others adjusted to the dim light, and each then caught sight of the creature as well. It seemed to be completely without privilege and was bowed with indignity, and T'Kai and T.K. both stepped forward in front of the others and approached it with caution.

The creature's eye flickered up at the pair in annoyance, and its voice took on a tone of great frustration. "Ahhh... again? No, not again, for pity's sake. For how long have I been bound in this... place? Kept here, listening only to the chastisement of the holy _a'ladon _priestesses?"

There was a long pause, and when the creature began again it sounded as though it had been crying. "Oh, how I long to be free again... Free... _free_... to be free to unleash my unholy terrors upon your lands. To defile your women and to devour their children. I long to hear the sounds of lamentation of the good and virtuous, long to rain down my ruin upon their lands and to consume their souls. Long, most of all to hear my righteous tormentors as they mourn in pain and sorrow."

T.K.'s blood ran cold at the words of the tiny, yet monstrous, creature. Its jet-black skin was shiny, but the sharp, pointed features made it appear to be something on the order of a wingless, hairless bat. Then it looked up at the small group, and the human boy stepped back involuntarily. The eyes of the creature were two fiery coals, burning with hatred and a rejection of all that was pure and untainted. Slowly its angry gaze flickered over the group, peering at each of them in turn. "And now one is no longer enough, yes? Now they must send seven of you to torment me and to bind me here as part of our bargain? _Have I not suffered enough?_"

Kari stopped to count their group again. _One, two, three, four, five. _No, they had not picked up two additional members while she was not looking... at least, not to her eyes. T'Kai swallowed and stepped forward. "You are the demon _D'assan_?"

The creature hissed, the wheezing sound making him sound like a dying animal. "That is what your people, in this time, in this world, call me, creature. Elsewhere I am known by other names, names with more power and more authority, where my existence is not so bound."

The Crest of Hope hanging from T.K.'s neck glimmered in strong defiance of the beast, sending a golden silhouette of light to fall upon the boy's face. The creature gave a start of recognition, then once again fell back into its lazy posture. "Ah, the great holy champion. The End Times come at last..." it murmured in what sounded like resignation, then stared closely at the blue-eyed child as if in confusion, and paused. "No. you are not _Him_, though the resemblance... But _you _are mortal. So my time has not yet come... pity."

T'Kai stepped to the front, his teeth clenched tightly. "By what right do you take Kiara from me?" he demanded of the beast.

The dark creature looked up, astounded. "Take her? From you? By all means, warrior, keep her from _me_. I beg of you. Rescind the accords which have kept me here for ages, and allow me free reign over this world again."

Kiara stepped forward to be next to T'Kai, gently placing a paw upon the soft fur of his arm. "I understand now, dearest. I am not to be his slave, but rather his conscience. And evil has no power when it has a conscience."

"So _you _are the chosen one, now," the dark creature murmured to the girl. "My jailor. _Everlast_. These others... your faithful escort, I assume?"

Then the creature stopped, lifting his snout to sniff at the air and gripping with angry claws the arms of his stone seat. "Wait... escort, yes. I can feel their righteousness, their sanctity, and their love. But there is something... nay, _one _with a delicious air about him that I have not felt in some... " he trailed off with a hiss, rising from his great throne and advancing towards the group on ebony hooves. Disturbingly enough, it seemed to T.K. that he was growing a little bit with each step that he took, as if he was inhaling breaths of air but not allowing them to escape. "Jealousy? Pride? Covetousness? Oh... the scent is like the breath of life filling mine nostrils!"

Now the creature was moving faster, dashing towards Davis as a wicked-looking set of spiked horns cracked through his flesh and burst from his forehead. "Yes, unconsecrated! You, who are without a blessing from the One! I long for _your _mortal soul, for your embrace. Come to me... _Come to me now and make me whole again!_" The creature's voice was no longer weak, no longer wheezing, and now echoed throughout the cavern with the resonant sound of a massive clap of thunder. Wicked, claws fingers stretched forward from his wrists, seeking to catch the brown-haired child in his deadly embrace.

"Davis! Kari! Get back!" T.K. shouted, setting his feet on the ground and gripping his stave tightly as D'assan loomed over him. The Crest of Hope was now wholly awake and exploded with golden fire, sending a holy aura upwards to dance upon the human boy's shoulders. "Get out! Now!"

And as the dark creature charged it grew, and grew, and grew...


	8. Paragon

Chapter Eight

The basalt walls of the great cavern that had previously entombed D'assan exploded into splinters as Kari, Davis and Kiara fled, frantically scrambling back up the narrow spiral pathway that had led them to this place. The searing impact of the blast sent all three stumbling forward to the ground, and Kari chanced to look back over her shoulder as she assisted a stunned Davis to his feet.

The girl was aghast at the devastation that the blast had caused. It had not only shattered to pieces the lair in which they had found the onyx-skinned fiend, but had also demolished most of the far side of the chasm as well. Layer upon layer of rock had been shorn from the wall, allowing the three who had escaped to see the battle beginning to unfold upon the ledge that was now all that remained of the demon's prison.

"Kari? What's happening?" Davis shouted above the din of subsequent explosions and rubbing at a hand that had been skinned in the fall.

"They're fighting it," Kari answered, visibly and audibly dismayed at the sight as the black-skinned demon (who now towered over both T'Kai and T.K.) thrust a massive claw at the young _a'ladon_ Warden_._ The boy rolled away from the blow, then watched in alarm as the thrust that had been meant for his head splintered the rock where he'd stood only seconds before.

Just then another concussive echo burst from somewhere above the trio, and a rain of small stones and other debris tumbled down upon them. "Kari, we've got to get out of here!" the boy shouted urgently in her direction, raising his voice above the resonant sound. "I may be blind, but even I know that! This place sounds like it's coming down on our heads!"

The brown-haired girl wheeled on the boy furiously, grabbing him by the collar of his coat and shaking him. "Just shut up, Davis! Shut up right now! You've been nothing but trouble ever since we got here! And it's your fault that that thing came to life. He only freed himself because you brought your stupid jealousy and pride in here! He said so!"

Davis bowed his head in chagrin, but then a quiet voice reached her ears from behind. "No, daughter... this time, he is right. For perhaps the first time since you have arrived in our land, he has spoken out of concern for someone other than himself. It seems as though a maturation is upon him."

Kari and Kiara turned as one at the sound of the voice. "Who--?" Kari started, then caught sight of the speaker as he emerged from behind a sulfurous cloud. Her hands fell from Davis' collar as she blinked, recognizing the peculiar figure who had been the first to greet them at Kiara's temple. "You... you're Cheyne, right? Reverend Father?"

The brown-haired _a'ladon _nodded, removing his brown cowl as he stepped forward to join their little group. "Come," he said, indicating the spiral pathway that would lead them back to the upper reaches of the cavern. "Let us walk a little way, at least to be out of the way of imminent harm."

"Shouldn't we just get out of here while T.K. is keeping that thing busy?" Davis asked of the elder creature, turning in the direction of his voice. He licked his lips nervously. "If they get beaten by the... whatever it is--"

Cheyne was grim, though of course Davis could not see it. "_If _it should happen that the Paragons fail in their task, child, there shall be no place in our world that will be a haven from D'assan. His power, then fully unleashed, will grow and fester with each new day that comes upon us. He will seek out evil wherever it exists, and that evil will nourish him until his power is unmatched."

The boy's lips quivered beneath the gauze which served as the bandage to his scarred face, the words of the squirrel-like creature haunting to him. "And I woke-- but _I'm_ not evil!" he insisted.

Cheyne took the boy's hand from Kari and started to lead him gently up the walkway, the two girls following close behind as they craned their heads to watch the battle below. "No, child, of course you are not. As Takeru has been trying to tell you since you arrived in our land, _he_ at least understands that you are far from it. Though from some of your actions it would be possible to assume otherwise."

"But then why... why did that thing--"

"React to your presence? This is a place for the purest of hearts, Daisuke Motomiya. The most holy. Else why, do you guess, that priestesses and not soldiers would guard such a danger to our lands? And though you are a fine and decent soul you are not blessed... not as these others are. They have been consecrated to a duty that you have not."

Kari only half-heard the words of the _a'ladon_, instead continuing to peer down into the depths to watch the battle which raged beneath them. T'Kai and T.K. were now on a offensive of sorts, and they worked in tandem to attack the creature with weapons that were literally aglow with the golden light of the human's Crest. Each blow that the pair landed upon the demon's ebony hide caused it to howl in agony, yet still the darkness grew in an almost desperate attempt to swallow up the two brave children.

"Here, now," the _a'ladon_ Reverend said as they reached a portion of the walkway some three levels up. "This should be far enough to keep us out of harm's way for the time being."

Kiara and Kari instantly rushed over to the ledge and stared down to see what was happening beneath them as Davis stayed beside the older _a'ladon, _still keeping his tight grip upon the other's paw. Then the creature leaned in closer to the boy, and whispered, "Your sight I return to you, for a time, that you may be another witness to what must happen here. Receive the gift of Light," he murmured, then reached up and tore the rags off of the boy's eyes.

Davis blinked for a few moments, as his eyes had dried out from several days of nonuse. Then he glanced at the _a'ladon _with surprise before moving to join Kari and Kiara. Kari looked at the boy, then turned to the Reverend Father. "How did you-- who are you... ?"

The creature seemed to grow a little before her eyes, and he smiled affectionately in response. Now, for the first time, Kari noticed the great trumpet that was dangling from his side and caught a brief glimpse of the sigil of her Crest scrawled upon it. She was almost certain that it hadn't been there before. "Do you not know me? For I assure you that we have met before, Daughter... though before I only stood before you only as a Ward that the dreams would not swallow you. Now that Takeru has taken on that duty, I am called to be elsewhere."

Kari's mouth slowly opened in astonishment as she stared at the Reverend _a'ladon_, who smiled gently in return at seeing the recognition in her eyes. The Crest of Light that was bound to her wrist seemed to flicker at the creature, and as the glint fell upon Cheyne he nodded at it with a response so familiar that it transcended words. "Think on it. It may come to you in time. But look now... the battle turns. And as you watch, I charge each of you to never forget what you see on this day. Never forget, and never let your children, or your children's children forget... the great price that must be paid for all to be free of evil's dominion."

Davis barely heard the charge, lying on his stomach with his head leaning over the ledge to get a better view of the battle. But thankfully he was no longer scratching at his wounds, and was instead entranced at the sight far beneath him. But Kiara had heard, and now joined Kari beside the Reverend creature. She bowed deeply before him, as deeply as she had before T.K., and took his paw in her own. "Father? I have... have a confession to make."

From far beneath them an anguished howl echoed up to their ears. "Yes! Tear him up, T.K.!" Davis shouted down.

The eyes of the creature shown with gentle amusement, though his expression was still kind. "You beg forgiveness, Daughter? the _a'ladon _returned, then reached down and placed a paw upon Kiara's furry stomach. "Why? You have not sinned, but been bound in a union that shall bless this world better than it shall ever know. Even D'assan the Fallen, the Apostate, cringed from the presence of your kits, though the spark of life has just now fallen upon them."

The two girls glanced at one another in confusion for a moment, then Kari's eyes shot wide open in astonishment and her cheeks flushed a dark red hue. "Kiara! Are you--? I mean, did you and T'Kai... ? When did you find the time to... ?" The human was stammering now, unable to find a way to phrase her discovery that wouldn't seem too... naughty.

But Kiara was significantly ahead of the other girl. "Babies?" they whispered in delight to one another.

"Children," Cheyne said sternly, interrupted their glee and nodding towards the battle unfolding far beneath them.

Kari was almost horrified at having forgotten the danger which T.K. faced down beneath them, and also lay flat on her stomach to get a better view of the battle going on far below. Kiara placed one furry paw upon her abdomen, far beneath which two sprigs of life had just begun to sprout, then looked down to the father of her babes in a struggle for his, and all of their lives.

************

Each breath that T.K. now managed to steal burned within his throat and set his lungs to aching anew. For even though he was in excellent condition, the creature that he and T'Kai were engaged against was apparently not subject to any of their physical limitations such as fatigue or distraction. And the sulfurous nature of the air in the chamber was not helping matters in the least. Thus far T.K. had been able to evade the worst of the creature's blows, and at the timely direction of the Crest of Hope he had turned aside with his stave the couple that had been too fast for him, but he was tiring fast.

The human boy was able to spare only a brief glimpse in T'Kai's direction. The young _a'ladon _warrior looked completely exhausted, yet was still a blur of motion as he repeatedly slipped through the demonic creature's grasp only to reappear moments later to thrust at the flanks of the beast with his blade.

But then D'assan came to a frustrated halt and threw back his horned head in a feral howl. T.K. covered his ears in pain at the sound, and T'Kai winced visibly. The cry was one of complete domination over all natural effects within his field of influence, and at his command a great curtain of aberrant darkness fell over the small group of combatants. The golden glare of the Crest about T.K.'s neck instantly swelled into greater life to prevent them from being entirely swallowed, but the range of vision of both children was constricted greatly. The blond-haired human could no longer see the claws of the demon as they shot past him in the dark, though he could feel the whistle of the breeze as they came within mere feet of removing his head from his shoulders.

On the other side of the dark creature and himself enveloped in darkness, T'Kai panted heavily. He did not have T.K.'s holy light to provide him with any illumination, and so was forced to rely on his already sharp and now enhanced sense of smell to tell him where the beast lurked. "Grand Cross!" he cried sharply, cutting the mark of the Cross into the darkness before him with his great sword. He felt the traversing thrust glance off of something, and the demon towering above him gave a short grunt of pain in response.

The _a'ladon _was uncertain just how long he could keep this battle going. Having stayed up the entire night before he was already exhausted, and the amount of energy that he was spending in order to avoid being crushed by the demon's claws was exhausting him as quickly as it was his human counterpart.

Then T'Kai's foot slipped just slightly as he stepped on an imperfection in the stone floor. Not a great misstep, and if he had not been battling in utter darkness against a creature with such supernatural speed it would certainly have gone unnoticed. But as it was, the slip proved costly. Once again the dark claw of the demon shot forward and, as the young _a'ladon _tripped, the filthy nails of the creature tore into his shoulder and threw him forcefully to the ground.

From the other side of the cavern, T.K. heard his short-lived cry of pain. "T'Kai!" he shouted as he heard the sound, though the word cost him yet another breath. There was no thought of counterattack now. he was forced to expend everything that he had left to keep from being struck down by the deadly beast. But the truth was, if he stopped to admit it, that he was tiring... and tiring fast.

T'Kai gave a weak cough as he rolled onto his knees, his left arm dangling uselessly at his side. The impact from the creature's blow had thrown him violently out of the area where the battle was being held, meaning that the Lord Takeru was now being forced into a single combat against the beast. The young Warden struggled to get to his feet, but the damage that had been inflicted on his lean body was tremendous. Almost impassively he glanced over at the furry shoulder where he'd been struck and saw the blood beginning to thoroughly soak his already auburn fur.

"T'Kai!" shouted a voice from far above him. The dazed young creature looked up. and up. and up some more. Even with his enhanced vision, the vulpine creature could just barely make out the group peering down at him from the top of the spiral rampway. "K... Kiara?" he murmured, taking an involuntary step back as a wave of vertigo washed over him.

"T'Kai... Dearest! I love you! You're going to be a father!"

The words had no meaning for the pain-stunned _a'ladon, _and he staggered now dangerously close to the edge of the chasm that led to the abyss. He closed his eyes and paws tightly to marshal his remaining senses into some semblance of lucidity, then looked again into the black void that was swelling before him. He could still see the golden light from his Lord's crest shimmering with its holy fire within that black void, and could just manage to catch a glimpse of D'assan as he attacked the boy god. It all seemed so... _familiar _to him at that moment... 

Then T'Kai gasped and reeled away, his head spinning. Familiar? He _had _seen this before... but only in a vision. It was the vision that had haunted his dreams, even as a young kit. It was the one that had sent him scurrying to the safety of his mother's arms to protect him from what would befall him at the end. It was the one that foretold of his death...

Two paths of destiny stretched out before the boy: one long and foreboding in its darkness, the other short and brightened by a vibrantly burning light. Yet that light was his own life, and in pouring it out to brighten the path it would soon be extinguished. In his childhood he had trod the steps of each of his dooms frequently, yet the conclusion of neither brought him solace.

Down the dark path, and he would be safe. He could retreat... could flee the awful fetid odor of this place to the spring that awaited outside. Yet in his flight Takeru would fall to D'assan, exhausted after battling the tireless beast to a draw for hours. Lady Hikari would succumb to the creature soon afterwards in her carelessness to reach her Lord's side. Kiara too would die, the demon king making a single mouthful of the girl and her unborn kits. But he would be safe, hiding where the demon could never find him even as it plunged his world into a perpetual and everlasting darkness.

Yet he _would _be safe, and free to live out his life to its natural end. Else in his other destiny...

He would shine brightly for one brief, heroic instant. He would pour out the whole of his life into one single, righteous attack upon the beast and bind it here in perpetuity. His blood would finally wash the _a'ladon _clean of the ancestral sin that had haunted them for ages, and upon the foundation stone of his sacrifice a new life could begin for his people... for his beloved and their children.

He couldn't make this choice... he _couldn't_. He didn't want to die... there had to be someone else more suited for this. He was no hero, he was just a child. He had been consecrated in Takeru's temple less than a month ago. His lips started quivering rapidly, a barely audible whisper spilling from them over and over again like a frantic mantra. "I don't want to die... I don't want to die... "

Yet there was no third option. He could live as a coward, or die as a hero. There was only one thing that he had left to hold on to. _Takeru's Vows... _It was Takeru's Vows for him. _It had always been._

I believe.

"Lord Takeru! Help me!" he cried, taking a firm grip on the hilt of his sword and throwing himself into the unnatural darkness of the void.

The young human turned at the call of his friend, and in a scant instant the golden relic alight upon his chest became as the sun. A great surge of heat and holy power burst from the Crest to dissolve the murky cloud that surrounded the combatants, and D'assan raised a single claw to shield his eyes from the presence of the Paragon children and their divine weapon.

As the great light washed over T'Kai he began to evolve once again. Now the auburn fur covering his body was transmuted into a magnificent silvery hue, and the muscles of his arms and legs hardened while the dark cloud that had been lingering over him passed away into nothingness. Peace finally came to the boy as holiness washed over his body, driving his pain and the visions away... save for the one that would stay with him for all time: that of his children, living happily and in peace together with their mother. "My life I sacrifice to that end!" he shouted, drawing back his massive sword with both paws.

__

"Holy Cross!"

************

"Kari, come _on_!" Davis shouted, literally dragging the beleaguered, brown-haired girl from the cavern's egress. The mountain trembled beneath their feet as though it would collapse, and all around them smaller wildlife scampered for the sanctuary of lower ground. Several steps in front of the humans, the priest Cheyne carried Kiara (who had fainted dead away at T'Kai's call) within his furry arms.

"No! Get your hands off me, Davis!" the girl screamed madly, straining against his grasp in a frantic attempt to get back into the rapidly crumbling cave. She dug her fingernails into the skin of his arms, and Davis clenched his teeth together against the pain.

Then the veil of sightlessness fell over Davis once again as he stepped into the sunlight, and in horror his hands fell away from Kari's shoulders. "No! Not again! Not _now!_"he cried in despair, placing his hands out in front of his face and starting to flail about blindly. It was bad enough that he couldn't see where he was going, but he couldn't let Kari get back into that cave...

Kari threw Davis to the side, rushing back towards the deep fissure in the side of the rocky peak. She had not seen T.K. die, so in her mind there was still a chance... no matter the fact that an entire mountain had just collapsed on him, there was still a chance... 

Just as she was prepared to enter the dark cave once again, a torrent of small rocks and debris came pouring down the side of the mountain and buried it as the girl watched in horror. "No!" she screamed again, leaping onto the pile of rubble and frantically digging into it. The rocks were sharp, and in scant moments her hands were raw and bleeding, but she did not pause even an instant to think about the pain. "T.K.!" she cried, coughs and sobs tearing at her throat with each breath. "Hold on, T.K.! I'm coming!"

She dug and scraped and cried for several long moments, until a voice at her back stopped her. "Daughter."

Kari didn't turn. She could still dig as long as she pretended that she didn't hear.

"Daughter, stop," the voice of the Reverend _a'ladon_, impossibly deep for one of their kind, ordered. Kari was almost desperate to resume digging, but she was powerless to resist the command.

"I _can't_ stop!" she wailed hopelessly. "T.K.'s down there!"

"And you could dig up the entire mountain, and still not reach him," the creature answered. "Come, now. The Paragon is beyond your help, but there are others who need you still."

Kari was angry for a long moment, then her lips quivered as she started to cry again, realizing the horrible truth of the creature's words. The mountain was still trembling with thunderous discontent, and both Kiara and Davis needed her help. Slowly the brown-haired girl picked herself up from the pile of debris and, with her head bowed in despair, walked back to their small group, placing a limp hand within Davis' groping one. She didn't care anymore. Let the mountain collapse... let all of them die... she was no longer soulbound, and was without hope...

Cheyne led the other three down a small trail away from the mountain. No one said a word as they walked... not after the horror, and the terrible sacrifice that they had just witnessed.

************

It was several hours later as Davis, Kari and Kiara all sat about a small fire, the two girls staring sightlessly into the flames. Neither had said a single word since they'd sat down, and each was heedless of the thick smoke that swirled about their heads and red-hot embers that leapt at their feet.

"Kari... I'm so sorry," Davis murmured quietly, slowly reaching for her shoulder before allowing his hand to fall to his side once again. He wasn't sure of how such a gesture would be received at the moment. "I... I know how much he meant to you."

"No... no, you don't, Davis," the other whispered in response. She slowly lifted her eyes up to see the Reverend _a'ladon _Cheyne gathering a large pile of dry wood and twigs a short distance away. She didn't care what he was doing; it didn't matter now anyway. "I just can't... I can't believe that after all this time that it would end like this--" she continued, half to Davis and half to herself.

The elder _a'ladon _stopped what he was doing, standing stock-still for a moment and bowing his head. Then he turned and came to join the small group. "How else to bring an end, Daughter? Do you think that evil, once wakened, is so easily turned back?" His brown eyes stared alternately at both Kari and Kiara, a faint glimmer of sadness in them. "Throughout the history of all creation, the turning aside of evil has been at the cost of a willing Paragon's sacrifice. This has not been the first time, and it grieves me to say that it shall not be the last. The day will come when evil shall be put into its final place, but until then, the Children must continue to prove themselves against the myriad forms that the Fallen will wear."

Kari gave a sniffle, and tears were rolling unchecked down her cheeks. "I didn't even get a chance to say goodbye... " she whispered softly.

The older creature stood between the two grieving girls and looked down at them, placing a gentle paw on each of their shoulders. And when he spoke, though in response to her words, Kari had the distinct impression that what he said was intended for Kiara. "A goodbye was not needed, child. Indeed, for him to hear the word may have been disastrous. His last thoughts were of you, and the hope that he would one day be with you again. To strip him of that hope may very well have meant that D'assan would have overcome him."

Though Kari continued to weep Kiara had stopped at some point, and the girl looked up at the Reverend creature with unshed tears deep within her eyes. "I... I think I understand, Father," she whispered quietly. "But you must tell me... please... did he know? Did he know how much he meant to me?"

"He does know, child. Now, in that place where he is, he understands to a greater extent than even you yourself do. And he watches you, and waits. It may be harder for you that it will for him, for time will pass the faster for him until that day when you are again united. So do not despair... until that day, he has left you with a charge of priceless value." And once again he placed his paw upon the girl's furry stomach.

Cheyne stopped then, aware that the girl was fully content with T'Kai's sacrifice for her sake. In the whole of creation, there were not a dozen individuals who could have made the offering that was called for... it was her sorrow and blessing to have been placed with one who could.

"And here comes another," Cheyne whispered quietly, his eyes falling now on Kari as he craned his head over his shoulder.

The human girl's head was bowed. She couldn't really help it. At the moment she felt so... so heavy. _T.K.? T.K., please just let it be like it was before. I need you here, most beloved. I need you here to take the pain and the weight from me like you used to... in the days before. I can't do this without you..._

And then there was a small rustling in the brush at her back, and the hair on the back of the girl's neck bristled ever so slightly. She felt... alive.

The blond-haired boy stumbled into the clearing, virtually dragging his left foot behind him and his golden shirt torn to tatters. A dazed expression was in his eyes, and black soot covered every inch of his frame, from his yellow hair down to the shoes the _a'ladon _had provided him. In his arms he carried the limp form of the Warden T'Kai.

"T.K.!" Kari shouted, scrambling to her feet and tripping over imperfections on the ground as she rushed to his side. The boy gave a very, very weak smile at her as she clutched at him, but his voice stopped her for a moment as he looked to Cheyne. "Where?" he murmured, clutching T'Kai's boyish face protectively to his shoulder.

The older _a'ladon _extended his paws to the human Paragon. "I will take him from you, Lord Takeru."

"No!" T.K. said sharply, almost angrily as he held the other boy's body tightly against his chest. "Where is the place?" he insisted.

Cheyne closed his eyes in empathy with the other's pain, then nodded his head towards the bed of sticks that he had lain earlier. With a haunted expression in his eyes the young hero turned and hobbled in that direction, Kari at his heels, and rested the body of the little creature on what was to be his pyre. Tears poured down his soot-stained face to fall upon T'Kai's furry body as he looked at the closed eyes, the peaceful face of the other boy, and for one last time he held the other's paw tightly in his hand. "Rest well, little keeper of your promise," he whispered as a farewell benediction, then turned away while choking back the sounds of sorrow that would be torn from his throat.

Kari looked at T.K. carefully for a moment, then solemnly and hesitantly stretched her arms forward to embrace him. The brave expression on T.K.'s face failed at that moment, and he broke down and fell into those waiting arms while tears poured down his face. The girl held his head tightly against her shoulder, rocking the boy back and forth in a soothing manner as she stroked his hair lovingly. "I thought I'd lost you," she murmured into his soot-darkened ear.

T.K. didn't respond, and lest he collapse in fatigue and sorrow could only cling tightly to the girl as she held him up. It was a long time later when he finally looked at her, his eyes red from crying and the tears having left a clean trail of skin down his darkened face where they had fallen. Together he and T'Kai had been victorious against the evil of D'assan... but somehow, the boy didn't feel like he'd won. "I love you, Kari," he murmured weakly, his words scratchy as they left his parched throat.

The two fell silent... the bond that existed between them made any further words unnecessary. Silently they turned to where Kiara and Cheyne stood quietly above T'Kai's body and looked down at him. "Is this how it had to be?" T.K. asked of the priest, and for a moment the human boy looked very, very young.

The other turned and gave a single nod. "It has been so since the dawn of all."

"Is this why we were brought here?"

Again a nod. "It was. T'Kai was betrayed by one he trusted... he was sent on this journey to die. Were it not for you, Takeru, he would have fallen before he fulfilled his duty. Were it not for your example, he would have fled rather than stay to fight a hopeless battle. Were it not for your words, he would not have had the confidence to betroth himself to Kiara, and to sire the next, the greatest generation with her. And it was you, Lord, who taught him what a true sacrifice in the name of good must be. Do not grieve for his passing. He has done what he was meant to do. If you must mourn, mourn for those of us who are left behind... who must continue to strive against evil until that coming day."

T.K. gave a slow nod, as if he understood the words where few others would. Then he looked back at the campfire, where Davis still sat alone. "And our friend?"

"He too was called here out of need, though not for the sake of the _a'ladon_. Whereas this world needed the return of its Lord and Lady, he needed to see you within it. His bitterness concerning the bond between the two of you was such that it had threatened to envelop his soul, and our Master was not willing to allow that. He still has much left to do."

"I guess I can be thankful for that, at least," T.K. exhaled slowly, leaning heavily on Kari's shoulders since his own legs no longer seemed to possess enough strength to hold him upright on their own.

With that the _a'ladon _lifted his paw, and the glimmer of a white fire appeared from somewhere to dance about his fingers. With the faintest touch he reached down and set to life the pile of sticks on which T'Kai's body rested, and the small group watched quietly as the flames flickered, then roared into existence, consuming both the kindling and the young hero's limp form.

"Lord Takeru?" Cheyne murmured after a long while as tears rolled silently from his eyes.

"Yes, Reverend Father?"

"Will you bring your friend up here? It is time to return to him what he has lost."

T.K. nodded, and slowly limped back down the hill to fetch Davis. As the other boy led him back up to the smoldering fire, Davis bowed his head. "I'm glad that you're safe, T.K."

"Thanks Davis. And I'm glad that you're... well, better."

Davis gave a faint smile, though the scars and lesions covering his face made it seem gruesome. "I'm gonna have a hell of a time explaining what happened here to my family."

"Maybe not," the golden-haired boy answered as he reached the crest of the hill and handed off Davis to Cheyne.

"Now, child, do you comprehend what has happened here? Your sight was taken from you that you might see this. Why did your coming and not the others' awake D'assan? Have you thought on it... do you understand?"

Davis paused for a moment, then nodded slowly. What the creature had told him while still within the caverns... it all made perfect sense now. Why she could not love him the way that she loved T.K. They were... different. "I do... and I guess I'm sorry about what I've been putting them through--"

"Not to me," the creature interrupted, shaking his head.

Davis sighed and turned away, to where he perceived that Kari and T.K. were standing. "I'm sorry, guys. Whatever happened in the past between us... well, I wanted to say that I understand now... I mean, about the two of you. I won't do it again."

"We know, Davis," Kari returned quietly, her arm tightly about T.K.'s waist.

Then the _a'ladon _Cheyne nodded, and took Davis' hand and led him into the smoke that was roll upwards from T'Kai's body. The human boy coughed twice as the cloud swirled about his head, then blinked open his eyes and reached a single hand up to touch his face. He could once again see, and his skin was once again smooth with no trace of the damage which had marred his flesh for a time. "Smells like burnt dog hair," he muttered, wrinkling his nose. Then he looked towards the other four in evident alarm. "Oh. I'm sorry... I didn't mean... "

"It's all right, Davis," T.K. said for all of them, then looked over to Cheyne with a great fatigue buried deep within his eyes. "Are we done?"

"One last thing, Lord," the other answered, motioning towards the pair of human children with one paw. "If the two of you would come here for a moment?"

T.K. couldn't look at Kiara at he stepped to her side. The hurt was still too great. She had been T'Kai's... wife, he supposed, and there was a part of him that said she had every right to blame him for coming back where her husband had not. In the end and for all the power that the _a'ladon _attributed to him, he had been able to do nothing but hold the young Warden as he'd died. And it haunted him.

Cheyne was speaking now, and T.K. tried to focus on the Reverend creature's voice. "She carries the two which will lead the _a'ladon _into a time of unprecedented peace. Will you give them your blessing?"

Kari smiled and knelt by the young priestess' side, placing her hand upon the center of the other's furry stomach. How she wished that she could be there to see the birth of those babes. "Remember the love that your parents have shared, little ones. It is a love that has saved your world from darkness. Let that love give you strength when you find that yours is not enough." And as the girl finished speaking, the Crest of Light bound upon her wrist gave a small glimmer of happiness, and sent its blessing down upon the pair of unborn kits as well.

And when Kari had moved away, T.K. took her place. And he lowered his voice to less than a whisper, that Kiara herself could not even hear what he said. "Whatever blessing I have to give is yours, children. It will never be enough to replace what my weakness has cost you, but I surrender it to you anyway. The little good it has done me... I'm sorry. _I'm sorry_."

Kari moved to T.K.'s side, sensing something was wrong. But the boy only bowed his head and motioned her away, rising unsteadily to his feet and moving away from the _a'ladon_ girl. Cheyne then stepped forward and spread his paws open. "And their names shall be Ailora and Eloan. In the old language of our people, light... and hope... "

************

__

Six months later... 

__

Far away from that place, the two surviving conspirators sat at a table in conference. "I would say that, all things considered," Jeron mused, nodding in satisfaction, "this entire venture could not have possibly worked out any better. T'Kai is dead, and with him died both his damned wild magic and the ancient line of kings. Aieron, my faithful friend, we've done quite well."

But back where her husband's ashes had been scattered, Kiara felt the two tiny lives again fight for room within her crowded stomach... _and she smiled fondly as the twin girl beneath her heart willingly gave way to her brother, gave way out of love._

And within that infant girl's heart she carried both the gift of her father's wild, artistic magic and the stubborn faith in Her Lord Takeru that had seen her people proudly through war and times of vile enslavement.

And within her brother's veins ran the ancient bloodline of kings, the sanctity and faithfulness to become a great and righteous ruler... and the true, and eternal, faith of his father...


	9. Epilogue

Epilogue

__

Back in the human world, two weeks later...

T.K. knelt silently by the side of his bed, his shoulders trembling with the force of silent tears while his head rested across folded arms. He'd fought this off as long as possible, and just couldn't do it anymore. The great burden that he carried, the heartbreaking pain that he felt... it was all just too heavy upon his young soul.

The boy drew a sleeve across his tear-stained eyes to dry them, then leaned on the bed so that he could stand. Even after taking it easy for the last couple of weeks, he was still unable to place his full weight on the left leg that had been injured in his fight against _D'assan._ Or more properly, if he understood the _a'ladon _language, against the demon Asaan. But whatever the creature's name was it was still hateful to him, and his teeth clamped down hard upon one another to think of it.

The full moon outside provided the only light in the room, and T.K. had resisted for some time the urge to close the curtains and lie in his bed. There was something important... something that he had to understand before he went to sleep that night... something about himself. And so the young boy limped over to the full length mirror hanging on the wall and studied his image within it.

He frowned at what he saw. He looked no different there than he had last week. Or the week before that, or even the week before that. T.K.'s brow furrowed tightly as he continued to stare at his image for a few more moments, then turned away in embittered frustration. "What is so special about _me?_" he demanded of himself quietly. Whatever it was, he just couldn't see it in the mirror. "Why did this all have to happen to me_?_"

"T.K.?" another voice whispered quietly, as if in response, and the door to his room creaked open and filled it with artificial light from the hallway. "You still awake?"

The boy turned with a sniffle, hoping that his brother would not be able to tell that he had been crying. "Yeah, Matt. I'm up."

The taller boy crept quietly inside, partially closing the door behind him. Then he turned and looked to his little brother standing there, his weight almost entirely on his uninjured right leg. And despite T.K.'s efforts to keep them hidden, the older boy did indeed take notice of his brother's tear-stained eyes. "You should be asleep, you know," he murmured.

T.K. allowed himself a small, very weary smile in response. "So should you."

Matt nodded, then looked down awkwardly as if he were studying the floor of the younger boy's room and both of them were silent for a moment. Then he looked up again, this time biting his lower lip. "T.K.? Tell me what's wrong... please?"

The pleading tenor of his brother's voice broke T.K.'s heart just a little more. He had no words to describe how he felt at that moment. The fear, the despair that he was feeling was real, he was certain of it and wanted nothing more than to have his brother there to help him face it. Yet he knew with a horrid certainty in his aching heart that, this time, there was simply nothing for his big brother to do.

Seeing the stricken look in the other's eyes Matt crossed the room to join him. Then silently, hesitantly, as if he were unsure of how the gesture would be received, the older boy gently placed a comforting arm around his younger brother's shoulders.

T.K. remained silent for a moment, then stared sobbing anew as he turned and buried his face against Matt's strong shoulder. The older boy gritted his teeth to keep from crying as well, out of concern for his younger sibling, and instead only held the smaller boy more tightly as he had so often when they were younger.

"Oh, _Matt,_" T.K. whispered, his young voice thick with despair. "It was so... I mean... I don't know..." he trailed off, seemingly unable to put a cognizant thought into words.

"It'll be all right, T.K." the other whispered soothingly, holding onto his brother tightly. "Whatever it is, it'll be all right. We can face it together."

At that moment T.K. longed very much for the old days; when the simple feel of his brother's arm on his shoulder could chase away all of his fears and could solve all of his problems. Everything would always be all right as long as Matt was there. But then T.K. sighed and his shoulders slumped, his tear-stained face still resting against the older boy's chest. That _had _been in the old days, and before his life had become this complicated. With regret evident in his eyes he removed his brother's arm from his shoulders and turned away.

"C'mon, T.K.," Matt pleaded, looking down at the younger boy. "Tell me. Talk to me please... what is this? There's something about you, squirt, and it's scaring me. Something's changed, hasn't it?" T.K. opened his mouth to respond, but Matt stopped him with a glance. "And don't you dare even _think _about telling me that it's my imagination. We're way beyond that."

The younger boy allowed himself a very brief, very tired smile, about to have said that very thing... really more out of habit than anything else. "Okay, Matt. I won't tell you it's your imagination. Would you settle for an 'I don't know'?"

Matt looked on helplessly in response. "I don't... I mean, I guess... maybe... Is it the truth?"

T.K. sighed, lowering his eyes. That was a harder question. It might have been the truth...

************

__

"Takeru! Lord! Help me!"

The blond-haired boy turned to the side at the call of his friend, watching as the battle-weary a'ladon_ tightened his grip around the hilt of his sword and once again staggered forward and into the fight with the evil Beast, the ebony-skinned prince of demons. The little Warden was clearly dazed, and his blue eyes seemed to have trouble focusing upon his enemy._

T.K. nodded and made to take up a flanking position alongside the young creature. Working in tandem, there was a small chance that one of them could place the demon in a vulnerable position while the other held its attention. But then the human Paragon found, for some reason and at that most crucial of moments, that his feet were completely unwilling to move from where they were planted. Something, some unseen power was holding him back, and despite his best efforts he could not force himself forward to join T'Kai in his desperate final strike against the massive creature.

And then, as he again saw the distant look in the young creature's blue eyes and heard the murmuring of the Crest of Hope in his own ears, a painful realization came to T.K.: This was not his battle to fight. This time belonged to T'Kai alone... it was to be his sacrifice to make.

The human boy slowly reached a hand towards the a'ladon, as if he would take the other's paw and lead him away from this destiny. This was wrong in so many ways... it couldn't happen like this. Not when the little creature had so much more to offer his world. This couldn't be right. It couldn't be supposed to end this way. It didn't make any sense at all...

But now the golden fire of the Crest burst forth from T.K.'s outstretched hand and engulfed T'Kai's body within its divine aura. T.K., now resigned to helplessness, watched as the holy relic finished in the child what it had begun only a few short days earlier. After a few moments of purification the Warden T'Kai was no longer a frightened child, and was not even the great warrior which had slain the Saurian at the entrance to the cavern. No. Now, as he stood and faced his destiny, T'Kai was finally the great Paragon of his race that he had been born to be.

A great peace settled over the creature as the golden fire ceased to flow forth from T.K. and the Crest of Hope and slowly, as if awakening from a long sleep, the boy a'ladon opened his cerulean eyes. His fur was no longer the fiery auburn color that his mortal body had been clothed in. Instead it had assumed the holy light of T.K.'s crest as its own, and had been transmuted into a fine pelt of divine silver. His long ears were folded back over his head in righteous anger as he stared down the great beast opposite him, his enemy who would eagerly defile his entire world given the chance.

T'Kai raised his massive sword in one clenched fist, a salute to the One who had gifted him with this duty. T.K. looked on, astounded both at the size of the blade and the fact that the a'ladon _child now possessed the Herculean strength that had to be required to lift it._

The silence in the cave was deafening... even the massive beast opposite the two children had ceased its incessant howling. One only had to be present in that room in order to feel the utter significance, the profound magnitude of that moment. Millennia had passed awaiting that very instant, and then, nodding his acceptance of it, T'Kai threw himself headlong into the darkness.

As the a'ladon _moved D'assan again raised his head and gave another horrifyingly loud howl. The drizzle of small rocks and stones that were falling from the ceiling of the cavern suddenly became a downpour at the deadly call of the beast, and T.K. moved back at the last moment as a particularly large stone shattered the ground at his side. Helplessly the young human watched as his young friend rushed into mêlée with his foe, ready to offer his life in exchange for the safety of his race._

T'Kai's rear paws barely touched the ground as he ran, as if heaven was unwilling to wait for the moment and was already starting to draw him home. And then the young creature leapt at D'assan, hurling himself into the dark embrace of the massive, black-skinned fiend.

Another rock smashed into the cavern floor at T.K.'s rear, missing him by only a few feet, but the young boy paid it no heed. Now his eyes were locked on the vulpine form of the Warden T'Kai as he leapt, swinging his great, shimmering blade in a great arc at the demon-king.

D'assan stretched forth one of his titanic claws at the a'ladon_, as if he would easily bat away this annoying little creature who was all that stood in the way of his dominion._

T.K. suddenly found himself able to move forward again, free to join his friend in the battle. But even as he stepped forward to help the young creature, he knew it to be too late...

"Holy Cross!" he heard the tenor of T'Kai's voice above the banshee call of the demon and the pounding din of boulders raining all about them. And the a'ladon's _weapon became a silver blur as it slammed against the dark claw of the prince of demons, the deafening sound of a thousand cannons being fired at once exploding throughout the cavern as the two met._

************

T.K. collapsed back onto his bed as the memory fell away into the past, then looked up at his older brother. "I'll be okay, Matt. It just hit me kind of hard when T'Kai died, that's all. You try to get some sleep, and I'll see if I can't get some too."

It was nearly, almost, but not quite a lie, and Matt could hear it in the younger boy's voice. Not that T.K. was in pain about the loss of his friend; Matt was certain that that much was the truth. But from what Kari had told them, T.K. had accepted the necessity and the sacrifice when the Reverend creature called 'Cheyne' had explained it to them. It _had _to be more than that.

Nevertheless, the older boy managed a grin. "Okay, squirt, you've got yourself a deal. But I want you to promise me that if you need to talk about it some more that you'll come and wake me up, no matter how late it is. 'k?"

T.K. nodded wearily. "Okay, Matt. You've got my word that if I feel like talking about it any more, I'll come and get you."

The answer appeared, at least, to satisfy the older boy, who nodded and turned back to the door through which he had entered. T.K. limped slowly back to his bed and lay down, staring at the ceiling with his hands clasped behind his head.

Then the younger of the two closed his eyes and steadied his breathing, knowing that Matt would not actually stop listening at the door and return to his own room until he felt that his brother was asleep. T.K. opened one eye a crack and watched for a moment, then sighed in satisfaction as Matt's shadow vanished from the light creeping in beneath his door.

Sitting up again, quietly so as to not disturb Patamon who was sleeping comfortably beside his bed, the young boy started to pull on his shoes...

************

__

T'Kai's radiant blade burst into a thousand splinters as it clashed against Dassan's dark claw, instantly and completely obliterating the massive appendage. The force of the explosion sent T'Kai flying through the air momentarily, his size dwindling as he reverted to the child-like form that T.K. had met on the shores of the lake only a few days prior. Then his tiny body met with tremendous force the one stone wall which had not been destroyed by the demon and the little creature tumbled forward to the ground.

T.K. was hurled backwards and to the granite floor by the force of the blast, the young boy crying out in pain as his left leg twisted awkwardly underneath him as his tired body rolled to a stop. Glancing up briefly, he saw the demon king stumble backwards in agony, a large, resplendent sliver of T'Kai's shattered blade projecting from the dark center of his massive chest...

Or not so massive. For as D'assan staggered back he also appeared to be diminishing as he clawed at the silvery metal lodged in his chest with his one remaining hand. Angrily the Beast snarled, for though he could grasp the bright splinter lodged within his body, it appeared that he no longer had the strength necessary to dislodge it.

T.K. coughed once and his eyes were set to watering, the thick smoke billowing throughout the cavern now having taken on a decidedly acerbic flavor. Now dazed, he rolled to his knees and began a slow crawl towards T'Kai's shattered body. His leg ached horribly, forbidding him to rise and walk as he would have ordinarily have done, and the sharp stones on the ground shredded his golden shirt and scratched at his belly as he crawled, but T.K. paid them none of this any heed. His one focus was to reach the side of the fallen Paragon.

Out of the corner of his eye T.K. saw the demon stumble backwards to once again rest upon his dark throne, the wheezing gasps coming from his throat making him sound like a dying animal. The boy didn't really care... nothing mattered at that moment but that he was able reach his little friend.

After what seemed like a lifetime to the exhausted, blond-haired human, he finally managed to drag his lame body over to T'Kai's and drape a single arm over the child's furry chest. "T'Kai?" the boy queried weakly, again choking on the sulfurous smell in the cavern.

The young creature gave a quiet moan at the feel of the human boy's flesh against his reddish fur, but gave no further indication that he had heard.

"T'Kai," T.K. tried again, more insistently this time as he gave the other a nudge.

This time the creature's blue eyes fluttered once and opened, though the look in them was terribly vague and glassy. "L... Lord Takeru?" he murmured, a trace amount of dark red blood dripping from the corner of his mouth. "Did... did we win?"

T.K. could hear the snarling of the dark fiend at his back as it struggled to remove the glimmering metal which had impaled it. The boy was uncertain of the answer, but knew what had to be said. "Yes, T'Kai," he said with a nod. "You did it. You won."

The a'ladon _shifted uncomfortably on the ground, and his head lolled flaccidly to the side. His back was broken, he was certain, and he could not even feel his legs. A part of him was oddly grateful for that, since he knew that both of them had probably been broken as well... if not from the collision with the wall then certainly from the fall thereafter._

"Good," he said weakly, in terrible pain but unable to move to remedy it. He just wished that he hadn't had to die down here, with the sharp pebbles jabbing into his back and the dark, putrid air smothering him. If only he could once again be outside, to be under the beautiful blue sky and to have the lush green grass as his bed. That would be just fine... but then, on second thought, he felt well content simply to have the Lord Takeru at his side in his final moments.

"Funny..." the little furry creature choked against the blood rising from his throat," I've been terrified of this moment my entire life, but now that it's here... I'm not really afraid anymore." T'Kai blinked, his blue eyes flitting around the cavern. "This... this is exactly what the Sight showed me."

T.K. was stunned. "You mean that you knew _it was going to happen like this?" he asked, his voice sounding very hurt, almost angry. "Why didn't you say something? We could have done it a different way! Tied Davis up and left him outside or something!" The human boy's face scrunched up, and he buried it in T'Kai's furry chest and wept fiercely._

T'Kai could feel his life slipping away. He only had the strength left to utter one request, one that had to be granted. He could not bear to die with his human companion upset with him. "Please... please, don't be mad, Lor... T.K. It had to be this way, I know that now. You _understand, don't you? I'm... like... you..."_

And at that moment and while still cradled in T.K.'s arms, the Warden T'Kai died.

The human boy broke down and pulled the young creature to his chest, burying his face into the other's soft, auburn fur as tears poured freely from his eyes. The pain that he felt crushed him like some enormous fist, a blow that would be with him for a long time to come.

"Do not weep long, human child," a cruel, deadly voice whispered at his back. "You will be joining him in his flight from this world soon enough."

T.K. craned his head over his shoulder and saw the fiendish creature once again on his feet and slowly approaching him. At his back were thousands upon thousands of dark, hideous, wraith-like creatures who swirled about their master, shouting over and over again horrid, ugly obscenities and their unadulterated hatred of him. Even as the boy watched their number continued to grow, a new one forming every second out of the haze filling the cavern.

T.K. allowed T'Kai's limp body to slide to the floor and gripped his own staff, struggling to pull himself to his feet. It was, he grimly suspected, a futile gesture. For though D'assan had clearly been stricken by the sliver of the young creature's blade lodged in his chest, T.K. could barely even stand on his left leg... he was certain that he could not fight on it.

The Beast grinned evilly as he approached slowly, flanked by his dark minions who all the while continued to hiss their revulsion at the boy. "We hate you, Takeru Takaishi. Oh, yes, how we hate you. We will take your mortal soul and give it over to our master to be scourged for all time... You will become like us, human. Come, now, child... give yourself over to us..."

T.K. flinched in horror at the deadly song of the creatures, the light on his chest beginning to flicker as though it would come again to life, but hesitating as the boy listened to their heinous cries. A rain of despair started to fall on the young child as he heard over and over again the hatred of those thousands of lost souls who cried their loathing of him even though they had never met him.

************

T.K. slipped quietly out of Matt's apartment, not wanting to disturb the older boy. He knew that Matt wanted to help, everyone wanted to help, but the young hero just didn't feel that this was something that they could take away from him. It was hard, terribly hard for him to deal with on his own, and for possibly the first time in his life was unsure of how to react.

The golden-haired boy stepped out into the frigid night, wrapping his coat tightly about his shoulders. He was not really certain of where he was going, he just knew that he had to be alone. Alone with his thoughts now, the dark memories that plagued him. The ones that threatened to crush the life from his mortal soul if he would just let down his defenses for just a moment.

After wandering alone for some time, T.K. unexpectedly found himself at the entrance to a massive park just a few blocks away from his brother's apartment. (It was, though the boy did not know it, the same park were his brother had saved Rio from her suicide attempt during the prior year.) It seemed to him to be the perfect place to find solitude, and T.K. nodded as he entered the park and sat down on one of the wooden benches, watching as the silver moon sent its light down to shimmer on the cold waters of the lake in the center of the verdant grasslands.

Hate? They hated him? Those poor lost souls did not even know who he was, yet each had cried out time after time their terrible loathing of his very being. That had been something that he was entirely unprepared to deal with...

************

__

D'assan approached him on cloven hooves, a cruel grin on his silent lips and in his blood-red eyes as he allowed his dark minions to do his threatening for him. T.K. was still down on one knee, leaning heavily on his long rod as he attempted to get his injured leg underneath him. It was almost hopeless, the young boy knew, but even in the midst of all of this he could not allow all hope to die. He owed T'Kai that much, at least.

Then the demonic fiend and his minions hissed and fell away as a golden light appeared behind the young human, and a deep voice sounded over his shoulder. "Enough!" the newcomer cried, the shimmering curtain of his light falling over T.K. to shield him from the dark horde.

Then D'assan alone crept forward, his pupils narrowing into a pair of fiery coals within the darkness of his eyes. "Cheyne..." he murmured quietly, then paused. After another moment, he continued, his eyes never once blinking or moving away from the pair. "That is what you are called here, yes? What business is this of yours, hmm? It is time for this Paragon and I to have our reckoning. How dare you to interfere?"

T.K. chanced to look over his shoulder to catch a brief glimpse of the one standing behind him. Cheyne, the a'ladon _who they had met at the temple on the mountain where Kiara had been delivered into their hands. But he looked nothing now like he did then. Now, instead of a middle-aged creature with brown fur wearing a somewhat tattered cloak, his pelt was awash in the holy silver that T'Kai had worn for a brief time. A golden light hung about him like a halo, and the cloth that he wore was a sheer white robe. At his side dangled a great trump inscribed with sigils that set T.K.'s heart to pounding, though his eyes could not decipher them at a glance._

"I dare to interfere," the other said with thunderous, unmistakable authority, "because you are already beaten." He indicated the thin length of T'Kai's shattered blade which continued to impale the fiendish creature. "You know the rules--"

The other howled at the word and snapped at the pair with his razor-sharp teeth.

Cheyne continued on as if the interruption had not occurred. "And though you seek to bend them and twist them and avoid them in any way that you can, you are forbidden to break them. Whatever is to come between you and this boy will have to be in another time, and another place."

The dark creature seethed in frustration at the chastisement, and his hell-red eyes narrowed and focused on T.K. "Listen to me, boy, and listen well. This is not over between us... it has not even begun. We know you now, and know why you have come... look for us, child. In the dark shadows of your dreams, in the jealous eyes of those who despise you, look for us... because it is there that you will find us."

Cheyne was now standing right beside the young human, who had been stunned into silence at the words of his enemy. The eyes of the a'ladon _never left the horde on the other side of the cavern, but he rested a furry paw upon T.K.'s shoulder. "Come, boy, let us be gone from here. This place can prove harmful to your mortal body if you should stay too long."_

As if suddenly reminded, T.K. coughed again as the fetid, sulfurous air continued to irritate his throat and lungs. Gritting his teeth he then forced himself to his feet, sharp needles of pain sending agony throughout his injured leg. Then the boy looked down at the body of his young friend, frowning as he realized that this was all wrong. T'Kai deserved more, much more than just to have his corpse lie forgotten down here in the bowels of the earth.

T.K. allowed his rod to fall to the floor with a clatter, and leaned over and placed his arms underneath the young Warden.

Cheyne frowned. "Why do you do this?" he queried sternly, knowing the young boy's intentions. "His soul has already flown away. Why do you now burden yourself with its earthly shell?"

T.K. was at a loss. "I... I don't know," he replied honestly. "But I can't just leave him here. That... that's not... right." He could not explain his reasoning, but after a moment Cheyne nodded as if he understood well enough.

"Very well then," the creature said, his silver fur continuing to shimmer as it kept the darkness of the cave at bay, "but go quickly. I would not see you dead down here before you are even presented with your true burden."

************

T.K. bowed his head. He was tired... so very, very tired. It seemed to the young boy as if he had been fighting all of his very short life. But what good ever came of it? Evil was always there, always returned in some manner or other. For every single agent of darkness that he helped to defeat, it always seemed that two would arise to take its place. T'Kai had given himself as a sacrifice and died, but the demon that he had 'defeated' lived on.

__

Why? The boy looked up, blinking as the bewildering thought struck him. At that moment, he realized that he could not think of or recall one good, one single very good reason to fight on any longer. Evil continued to thrive, the good and innocent continued to suffer, and the one that Cheyne had called a 'Paragon' of humankind could no longer think of any good reason to go on. As a veil of despair dropped over the young boy he unwillingly rose to his feet and marched toward the lake, his vision dimmed as the wraith-like demons at his back cackled their success and herded him onward.

************

"Daughter."

Kari sat up straight in her bed, pulling the covers up to her chest as she glanced about the darkened room. _Someone_ had just spoken to her, she was certain of it. A voice that was vaguely familiar... but then again not so familiar. As if it had been magnificently altered in some way or another...

"Cheyne?" the young girl murmured into the inky blackness, quietly, to avoid waking the feline digimon who dozed quietly beside her. It _had _to have been the angelic _a'ladon _who had spoken. If the tone of the voice could not convince her, the word had to. No one else, that she could recall, had ever used that word to address her directly.

"Cheyne?" she hissed again, more insistently.

A tiny pinprick of light floated quietly over to her and rested on the edge of the bed, a light so small that she would lose sight of it if she did not keep her eyes focused directly on it, even in the darkness of her room. "No... not here, Daughter. Here I am called by another Name." The voice was the elder creature's, and it seemed odd to hear so deep a voice emanating from such a tiny creature.

"What--"

"That is unimportant right now. In time, you may come to know me by my Truename, but for now you are needed. Needed most urgently."

"By who?" the girl returned.

"The young one. Takeru. You must come quickly. We haven't much time."

Kari blinked in alarm and bolted from her bed, slipping on a pair of loose jeans and throwing a sweater over her head, the very hint that T.K. was in trouble lending a fervent speed to her actions. The girl snatched the Crest of Light from the desk beside her bed and moved to wake Gatomon as well, but then the tiny spark of light that was Cheyne interrupted her. "No. Allow her to sleep. Tonight it is not her ferocity, but rather your love for the boy that is called for."

Kari looked confused, yet nodded once as she draped the pinkish crest about her neck, then opened the door to her room and silently slipped out.

************

__

T.K. limped wearily up the spiral pathway which led to the egress from the dark cavern, the small, lifeless form of his young friend's body clasped tightly in his arms. Once or twice the exertion and lack of clean air in the pit made him dizzy, and only the fact that Cheyne walked between him and the seemingly bottomless pit in the center of the room kept him from tumbling into it.

"Are the others safe?" T.K. asked his enigmatic companion.

Cheyne's eyes appeared far away for a moment, then he turned to the other and nodded. "Safe, but heartbroken."

Far below, T.K. could still hear the endless howls of hatred and fury of the creatures that the boy had just learned were intent on killing him. A look of indelible sadness appeared in his eyes at the very thought, and a single tear fell down and splashed onto T'Kai's limp form. "This is so stupid," he murmured to himself.

Cheyne slowed, hearing in the boy's words something that apparently didn't sit well with him. "You fear them?"

T.K. looked as though he was considering the question for a moment, then shook his head.

"Hate them?"

Again, a negative response.

The pair had now reached the summit of their climb, and made their way to the large arch which led back into the more mundane caverns. "Then why 'stupid'?"

The young human bit his lip, seeking a way to phrase the question which had been galling him. "Did we win? From the way that you were talking to D'assan, it sounds like you think so, at least. But it doesn't seem to me that we did."

Cheyne frowned, glancing at the body clasped tightly in T.K.'s arms. "Because of his death?" he asked in response. When T.K. answered with a silent nod, the a'ladon _continued, "Perhaps then because you were not aware of the alternative. T'Kai was, and he made his choice based upon what he knew. He was, as you are, a very special individual, and had a great responsibility placed on his shoulders."_

"A responsibility to die?"

"In this case, yes. He poured out all of his mortal life into that one act, and it is the goodness and purity of his spirit, encompassed within that tiny sliver of his blade, which will keep D'assan as he is now." He turned his head to the side. "Is it so very hard for you to believe that the defeat of evil required a sacrifice of such goodness? You have born witness to it before."

T.K. opened his mouth to respond, then fell silent, knowing the event to which the other referred. But very few individuals knew about that time, and did any a'ladon_? His eyes narrowed as he peered at the older creature. "Who are you?"_

"Here? Now? I am called Cheyne. In your world, in that time, I am called something else."

The blond-haired boy looked a bit confused for a moment, then glanced down at the instrument hanging at the other's side. Somewhere, lost in his memories there had been a story... Then almost instantly his blue eyes shot back up again and locked onto the creature's dark brown ones. "Clever boy," Cheyne murmured with a small grin.

T.K. was stunned. "Should I... should I kneel to you?"

The other's smile was kindly. "Should the time ever come for you to kneel, Takeru, I assure you that you won't need to ask." He paused for a moment, watching as the human ducked his head and squeezed through the archway, careful not to strike T'Kai's head, then continued. "You are out of danger, and so it is time for me to be off. Rejoin us at the bottom of the mountain. I will have T'Kai's resting place prepared when you arrive."

T.K. nodded. "But... uhm, Lord? How will I find you?"

The creature's silver coat flashed as he vanished from the boy's view, but his final words remained behind to meet with T.K.'s ears. "The Lady Hikari is with us! You will know the way!"

************

T.K. plodded on towards the black waters of the lake, his conscious mind struggling to find an anchor in his memories. Somewhere, someplace within his mind there had to be something worth living for... if only he could remember. But it seemed as if all of his most wonderful memories had been buried beneath the black mountain of despair that the death of T'Kai had brought and the livid hatred that the lost souls had pledged to him. If only...

The boy couldn't think straight, his eyes not even seeing the cold waters of the lake in front of him, his body not feeling the icy waves wash against his legs or the savage demons at his back herding him onwards, clouding his thoughts. His brow furrowed tightly in concentration. If only he could remember.

"T.K.!" a light, almost memorable voice called urgently at his back. The voice was quite familiar to him, so the boy might have turned; might have, if not for the crushing weight of despair resting on his shoulders. T'Kai... dead. He himself, hunted by that fiendish demon and his thousands upon thousands of minions. Cheyne's words... that said without saying that he also might be called on to sacrifice his life. Year after year after year of too much fighting...

"T.K.!" Kari shouted again, now more insistently than before. The young boy was up to his knees in the waters now, and he seemed to be ignoring her. Frightened, she turned to the small speck of light at her side. "What's wrong with him? What is he doing?"

"He has been overwhelmed," the bodiless voice returned to her, a thoughtful concern in the words. "I feared that this might happen, after our conversation in the caverns. It has happened before, with others. He was asked to do too much, too soon. His mind is clouded in desolation, and as long as that is the case the demons will have power over him."

Kari's brown eyes focused on the boy, and she was startled as she too could see the foot-high, imp-like monsters shoving T.K. forward into the waters. Tears started to well up in her eyes, and she made as if to scurry down the hill in T.K.'s direction. "No, Daughter, stop!" Cheyne ordered urgently.

"No! I won't!" the girl retorted angrily. "They're killing him!"

"You can't fight them, child, not alone!" the other responded urgently. "There _is_ another way. The boy has lost the anchor for his soul, has forgotten why he fights. You must remind him."

Kari looked confused. "Why he...? I... I don't under-"

Cheyne's voice was stern. "Don't you? You are innocent, Daughter, but never have been naive. You have known this for some time now. He fights for the light. He fights for his faith. He fights for the good of your world and its people. But above all things... he fights for you."

Kari's cheeks flushed a light pink, and the Crest of Light bound upon her wrist answered that blush with a crimson glow of its own. "T.K.!" she called again, the rosy light falling upon the young boy's back. Now, as he heard, the fair-haired child seemed to pause for a moment... if just a second. "Please, T.K.!" Kari continued to shout, and with each passing moment the light spreading from her wrist continued to glisten even more brightly.

T.K. stopped, waist-deep in the frigid water. Who _was _that who was calling him? He made up his mind to turn and find out, but for some reason he found that he couldn't force his eyes to turn and look back over his shoulder. Did it really matter anyway?

Kari sobbed in frustration, in fear for the boy. Then the little bit of light that was Cheyne's essence started to swirl about her head. "Remember, Daughter... remember what the two of you have been through. We have all seen it from Heaven, and still you hold it in your heart. Remember..."

A torrent of memories rushed over the little brown-haired girl. The first time she saw him. From the very start there was _some _kind of connection with him... even as a child she knew it. When he stayed with her, to guard her when her brother left her side. She had been so ill...

As they knelt together to offer a farewell to the fallen creatures after the horrendous battle in the sewers in the other world. The others had all been so intent on what was going to happen next that their sacrifice had been almost forgotten, but _he _had understood, had stayed with her.

The battle against Piedmon. She certainly would have died there, but for him. His courage, his faith had seen her live through it.

Two years later, as he poured out his mortal life into her body that she would not fail from despair. And how he had fought, alone, the hopeless battle that followed so that she would have time to escape... then how afterwards he had confessed his love in his charming, innocent way.

The journeys to the land of the _a'ladon, _his battles against the angel of darkness and the lizard-like Saurians... all for her.

Cheyne was gone, but his final words remained as a whisper upon the wind. "Shine, dearest heart. Shine brightly and for all that you are worth, for it is in your heart that he will find his life..."

How much she loved him.

During the time that the girl had been thinking the light from the Crest had continued to steadily increase, until when, with that final thought, it finally became so radiant that the pink glow was enough to turn the darkness of the night into day, illuminating the entire park from one end to the other. And with that light came heat, at least to T.K., who suddenly opened his eyes in amazement. Of course. That was why he fought, the reason that he continued to try.

Kari.

T.K. whirled about in the water, then reached up and tore the Crest of Hope from about his neck. With a grim look in his eyes, T.K. could finally see the horde of imp-like creatures at his back, hissing and spitting at him as they continued to try to force him forward into the deep waters. But now they were no longer pitting their strength against a human child who had lost the will to keep on fighting. As the golden fire leaked out from his tightly clasped fingers, the little demons finally were able to recognize why their master and other superiors had warned them against him.

The young human lashed out at the offending creatures with the holy fire in his hands, and though it may have been harmless to him, to the creatures born of darkness it was devastating. Four of their number were instantly cremated by the angry heat of the golden fire, and the rest fell away from him in alarm. T.K. trudged forth from the cold waters, throwing more of his fire at the creatures with every third step.

When the boy finally reached the shore, he again turned and faced the tiny monsters which remained before him. The holy fire in his hand was creeping quickly up his arm, until the one final time when he unleashed it upon the creatures in a massive golden arc. The imps, wisely perhaps, did not wait around to see what damage that great surge would cause to their tiny beings, choosing instead to scatter like leaves before the wind to wherever it was that they had come from in the first place.

T.K. was breathing heavily, shivering in the cold night air after having been thoroughly soaked in the dark waters of the lake. He stayed that way for a scant moment, his blue eyes flitting about the park to make certain that all of the little creatures were finally gone or destroyed.

Then the boy felt a tentative touch on his shoulder and he turned, knowing that the danger had passed. There stood little Kari at his side, the Crest of Light murmuring her love for him as it throbbed in time to the girl's own heartbeat. Her breath, visible in the frigid night air was coming in short gasps, and her soft brown eyes were filled with evident concern. "T.K.? Are you... okay?"

The last of the golden fire vanished from T.K.'s fingertips, chilling him on the spot. Exhausted from the ordeal, the boy briefly stumbled forward. "Kari?" he panted. "How... how did you know?"

"It was Cheyne, T.K. He came to me. Here in our world."

T.K.'s brow furrowed. "You mean Ga-- er... he came to get you? To save me?" The boy was struggling to keep a brave face in front of the girl even though he was rapidly losing consciousness.

Kari smiled as she took T.K.'s hand in response, then looked up in alarm at the clammy feel of his flesh. "Oh my God! T.K., you're freezing! Come on... we've got to get you back home!"

The brown-haired girl draped one of the taller boy's arms over her shoulders, assisting him up the small hill which led back to the street. Hopefully, there would be a taxi nearby or a policeman passing or just _someone _with a car to get them back to his father's apartment more quickly. His skin was icy, and his lips had taken on a pale hue as he struggled for breath.

T.K. almost fell three times by the time the pair reached the street. Bearing most of the larger boy's weight, Kari moved the two of them along as fast as she could, hoping, praying that a vehicle of some sort would pass.

And during the fifteen minutes that it took for them to struggle from the park to the apartment, not one did.

"Unbelievable," Kari murmured under her breath, groaning from the burden of almost carrying the boy along.

Finally, mercifully, the pair tumbled into the elevator at the apartment building, Kari pushing the button to the correct floor. T.K. was leaning heavily against the wall of the cubicle, his skin turning pale, almost a bluish color. "Hold on, T.K." the girl ordered fearfully as she stared at him, repeatedly pushing the button as if it would make the elevator move any faster.

Now Kari was forced to almost drag T.K. down the hallway to his door. Frantically she banged on it when they arrived, praying for Matt to get to them quickly. When there was no response she pounded on it again, then turned the knob and let the two of them in. T.K.'s drenched, exhausted body collapsed to the floor as they entered, and a loose piece of paper fluttered to the ground at Kari's feet.

__

T.K.-

If you read this, Patamon and I have gone to look for you. If you get home before us, STAY HERE! -- Matt

The writing on the letter was scribbled, frantic, but Kari had read enough of her own brother's bad handwriting to decipher it. Terrified, she slammed the door shut, then grabbed T.K. under his arms and dragged him towards his bedroom, straining against the boy's weight. "God... T.K.... next time, no second helpings of dinner for you," she muttered quietly, sobbing at the words at such an urgent time, then lunged forward one more time to get the boy's limp body into the room.

************

T.K. sat straight up in bed, flinching as the morning sun shone directly onto his face. He could still feel the golden Crest of Hope clasped tightly within his hand, and his eyes flitted about the room in momentary disorientation. Kari was asleep on a nearby chair, brown hair scattered about her face to make her appear much as T.K. had always thought an angel should.

The boy was about to roll out of bed to go to her side, to ask her just what had happened last night (his own memories were really quite foggy), when something occurred to him.

That being the fact that he didn't have one single piece of clothing on.

The boy's jaw dropped open and his cheeks reddened as he tried desperately to gather his thoughts. Wrapping a blanket tightly around his body, he quietly tried to crawl out of bed towards the dresser in the corner of his room, but at the movement Kari's eyes blinked wide open. "_T.K._" she exhaled thankfully, then leapt forward to embrace him, burying her teary eyes into his bare chest. "Oh, God, T.K.! I was so worried! I was so _scared_..."

The golden-haired boy awkwardly embraced her with one arm, careful to keep the blanket clasped tightly around him with the other. "Kari... oh, Kari, I _remember _now. You are my reason, the reason for my hope. Oh, I do love you," he murmured, pulling her in even more tightly. "I can't even say how much..."

The girl sighed quietly and turned to rest her cheek lovingly against his bare chest. "And Kari?" he whispered.

"Hmm?"

"How come I don't have any clothes on?"

The girl looked up in alarm, blood rushing to her cheeks as she turned her eyes away from him and backed slowly away, as if just now realizing his condition. "They... they were too wet and... and y... you were too cold and... and..." she trailed off quickly, stammering more awkwardly than the boy had ever thought possible for the ordinarily unshakable girl.

"Uhm... you mean... you... Uhm, rather, I... ah, don't remember taking them off mysel--"

Just then the pair heard the front door crash open, and the sound of footsteps as Matt came dashing back to the room where they were. Frantically the older boy flung open the door, his eyes locking onto his younger brother as he entered. "T.K.!" he shouted, relief flooding the sound of his anxious words. "Thank God you're..."

The boy trailed off as the entire scene seeped into his conscious mind. There was T.K., naked but for a thin blanket wrapped tightly around his lithe body. There was Kari, in the corner of the room, blushing a deep and rosy red and refusing to meet his eyes... and there was T.K.'s bed, unmade and looking much too well used for Matt's piece of mind.

"Uhm... Matt?" T.K. started slowly and holding up a hand defensively. "I know that I've said this before, but this _really _isn't what it looks l--"

Matt exhaled deeply, closing his eyes and turning around. "I don't wanna hear it, squirt. Just... just tell me that you're okay. Okay?"

"Uh... I'm okay..." It sounded more like a question than an answer.

"Good. I'm going back to bed. Call mom and tell her to call the school and tell them that I'm sick today, will you? I'm going to go back to sleep and convince myself that this was all just a dream."


End file.
